darkiplier and antisepticeye hit the road
by DarylSun
Summary: after escaping a laboratory, two eldritch demons make their way towards civilization to enact their master plan: taking over the world! except they run into a few bumps along the way... now with the addition of two more eldritch demons!
1. this road trip is off to a great start

**summary:** maybe this whole "walking through a desert" wasn't such a good idea after all.

 **a/n:** i was inspired by Markiplier's Darkiplier vs AntiSepticEye video, as well as the SCP Foundation tale Clef and Dmitri Hit the Road, from where the title comes from.

disclaimer: i don't own Darkiplier, AntiSepticEye, MadPat, or Natemate. they belong to...WHO the hell do they belong to, anyway? the YouTube creators? the fandom? anyway, if you found this by searching any of your names on the Internet, please hit the backspace key RIGHT NOW. if you proceed, please don't sue me. all OCs are mine, though, unless they're references to characters from other media. (if you get the shout-outs, award yourself a cookie.)

please check the tags and warnings before reading! i won't be held liable for any mental trauma you'll get if you went ahead and disliked the fic.

also, this work is on AO3! find it at archiveofourown works / 12382173.

* * *

Fuck this. Fuck the sun, fuck the desert, and most of all, fuck Anti.

Nope, that joke wasn't meant for the Internet to enjoy.

Dark almost wished he didn't bury Anti halfway into the ground when the little shit began complaining about the heat and his weak-ass body. He recalled calling Anti a baby, one insult led to another, and now he was here, walking alone along a highway in the desert, blaming someone who wasn't even there.

Also, fuck this roaring noise miles away behind him.

Wait, roaring noise?

Dark stopped his slow stomp and turned. Through the heatwaves rising from the highway, he could make out a truck speeding towards his direction.

Thank goodness, he was saved!

He jumped up and down, waving his arms in the air, both in joy and to catch the attention of the driver. He let out a very undignified whoop when the truck slowed down.

"Thank you so much—" he began when the passenger door opened, blasting him in the face with cold air—only to stop when he saw who was in it.

"Oh, perfect timing." Anti grinned, blood all over his T-shirt and jeans. "I was just thinking of you."

Dark didn't even know where to start asking questions. He decided to settle for the most important one. "Why is a dead guy still in here?"

Anti shrugged. "I needed the company. Also, I didn't know how to drive, so he's giving me pointers."

Dark nearly face-planted on the road right then. "Dead people can't talk, dumbass."

Anti didn't look amused. "Oh yeah? If you're so smart, how do you think I got here?"

Dark realized then this was what he was going to suffer for the rest of his journey, and resigned himself. "Okay, never mind, just get us out of here.

* * *

 **a/n:** i actually wrote the story of how Anti got the truck, but i didn't like how it turned out, so i cut it.

just so you know, the first four chapters were written WAY before Who Killed Markiplier? and JackSepticEye: The Silent Movie. everything else is written after those, so i decided not to incorporate the "canon" backstories.

if you have any prompts or questions, shoot me an ask at thedarkegoshittheroad . tumblr . com (still under construction!). constructive criticism is welcome, so PRETTY PLEASE leave me a comment or review below. NO FLAMES PLEASE; i already warned you not to read it if this fic is not your thing.


	2. wait, you guys aren't room service

**summary:** obviously, the escape of our two favorite demons doesn't go unnoticed. but who are the hunters, and who are the hunted?

* * *

Sleep is for the weak.

Unfortunately for Anti, his chosen host body _was_ weak, and hence easily succumbed to the siren song of deep unconsciousness. However if you asked him, it was all Dark's fault, since he was a spoilsport who wouldn't shut up about not killing everyone they met. Once they ditched the truck and checked into a dilapidated motel in the middle of nowhere, they ended up bickering all night long in their shared bedroom about whether the receptionist was suspicious and thus should be stuffed into a dumpster. (They only had a few dollars so they had to share a room, but the stink-eye they received was still undeserved.)

Their argument turned to their plans once they hit human civilization, at which they realized they have the exact same goal: to take over the world. And unfortunately, only one could be the winner. The yelling ended in a stalemate, however, when exhaustion from walking through a motherfucking _desert_ the day before eventually settled in their bones, and they both sank into their beds.

Well, it was a moot point, since the two somebodies in their room weren't asking about that. They were too busy shoving their shotguns into his face and yelling at him to get up from his hard-as-rock bed.

Anti lifted his head from where it was sunk face-down into the flat pillows, and gave the coldest glare he could muster while sleepy and groggy. The man (wearing combat gear and a ski-mask, what the fuck) next to his bed took a step back and gulped, but still kept the shotgun leveled at Anti's nose. (The guy, now designated Dead Guy #1, had balls, Anti would give him that.)

Anti then glanced at Dark's bed, where Dead Guy #2 was poking Dark, lying flat on his back, in the shoulder with his shotgun. Dark apparently never took off his jacket and pants, and for all intents and purposes seemed dead to the world, the lucky bastard.

Dead Guy #2's yelling was now probably 120 decibels, it was hurting Anti's ears (and not a lot of things could hurt him), so he decided to speak up. "Stop bothering him, he isn't going wake up until he wants to."

"Shut up," Dead Guy #1 growled, but his grip on the shotgun was shaking. "Don't you fucking talk."

"I'll talk when I want to," Anti shot back. "And what I want to know is, who the fuck are you and what are you doing here."

"We're hunters. We kill monsters like you," Dead Guy #2 declared. "And we're here to stop you before you can hurt anyone else."

Any other time, Anti would've laughed at the sheer audacity these two men had at facing him. However, he was just woken up rudely to deal with these idiots, while Dark wasn't. It didn't seem fair.

"I would ask how you bastards found us," Anti began, getting up from bed, "but I don't care, I'm not in a good mood, and either you give me coffee or give me death."

In reply, Dead Guy #1 shot him point-blank in the chest.

Anti looked down at his blue T-shirt, which was now riddled with bullet holes and blood. The gaping wounds quickly knit themselves together like nothing happened, but his healing factor did nothing for his mounting temper. He liked this shirt.

"Okay," Anti said, creating a kitchen knife in hand, "death it is."

Before the men could blink, Anti sprinted forward and grabbed Dead Guy #1's shotgun, tossing it aside. Dead Guy #2 leveled a shot at him, but he already teleported away and slammed Dead Guy #1 into the opposite wall, knife poised at his jugular.

He never got to drive the knife home into Dead Guy #1's neck, however, because the room was suddenly filled with shadows and darkness. The two men began to scream, but Anti only rolled his eyes and groaned.

" _Now_ he chooses to wake up."


	3. i was having a good time

**summary:** dark's beauty sleep got interrupted. he's not a happy camper.

* * *

Dark's dreams, contrary to what one might expect, did not contain torture or gruesome pain. Instead, it was filled with faceless people worshiping and loving him like he deserved. They followed his every command, and fulfilled his every need. It was a two-way street, of course: he gave them their heart's desires, and listened to their joys and sorrows, when it was convenient to him.

Of course, it _had_ to be interrupted by yelling and gunfire.

By the time he had finished restraining the people responsible, he realized that A) he wasn't fully awake, or even aware of his previous actions, until now; B) there were two armed men screaming in the room; and C) Anti was giving him the most disapproving look _ever_ directed at him.

"What the hell is going on here?" Dark decided to ask.

Anti gestured towards the men hovering mid-air, struggling with the shadows. "Humans very murder, such try, so much fail. Wow." He then jabbed the shadows restraining him. "Are you going to take these off me, or will I have to do it myself?"

A small part of him wanted to keep Anti, the little shit, restrained to teach him his place, but a larger part of him pointed out that not only did that sound like gay BDSM gone wrong, Anti was also very likely to do something earth-shattering and attention-grabbing just to free himself. Dark decided discretion was the better part of valor, and loosened his shadows, setting Anti on the ground.

Anti didn't even say anything, but only glared at him. Dark noted that he had a knife in one hand, and the blue T-shirt he wore was now covered with bullet holes and blood.

"What happened to you?"

Anti looked at the shrouded ceiling, and screamed in frustration, almost breaking Dark's ears. "It's 6 AM, these guys are suckers, you're a loser, and I want coffee. See ya." And with that, Anti disappeared.

Huh. Guess Dark wasn't going to get answers out of that guy. He then turned to the two armed men, who had quieted down and stared at him, one in fear and one in hatred. Suddenly aware of his probably disheveled appearance, he smoothed back his hair and fixed his tie and jacket.

"My apologies for my... acquaintance. I am called Darkiplier, but you may refer me as... Lord or Master. I would like to know what has occurred during my... absence."

"We ain't telling you shit," the angry-looking man replied. His scared companion merely whimpered.

Dark sighed, then slammed the angry-looking man hard on the floor three times. When he stopped, the man bled from his forehead and looked like he was about to pass out.

The scared man began talking.

"Oh my god please don't kill us we heard distress signals from a facility miles away that suddenly disappeared and we got a call that someone found a dead guy in his truck and then someone tipped us off that there were two suspicious looking guys who checked into this motel so we came here and we found you and the other guy woke up and got angry and tried to kill us please don't kill us our insurance doesn't cover—"

Dark held up a hand, and the scared man shut his mouth, stopping his word-salad explanation. Frankly, Dark was impressed with how much information the man said in under a minute.

"I see. So you are... people who investigate strange things, yes?"

The scared man nodded. Figures, it was time for damage control.

"Now here... is what you will do. You will... walk out of this place like you saw... nothing. You will speak of this... to no one. You will not send anymore of your kind... after us. If we meet again... my colleague and I will not be as... kind as to leave you alive. This is your only chance. Do not try to come back... or find us again."

The scared man's face clammed up, like he was struggling with the decision. But after a few seconds, he nodded again. Smart move.

"Good. Now... _LEAVE!_ "

Dark called back his shadows, flooding the room once again with light. As soon as the scared man was free, he grabbed his friend and hauled him out of there.

Now that Dark had the room to himself, he looked around it. Nothing was out of order, except for the crater in the wall where Anti probably slammed one of the men into. Trust Anti to leave his messes for Dark to clean up.


	4. this wasn't what we signed up for

**summary:** some realizations are made.

* * *

The diner Anti found nearby looked like time had abandoned it, with the cracked floor tiles, grimy benches, and water-stained wood tables, but at least the freshly-baked cinnamon rolls and home-brewed coffee were heavenly. He was savoring his seventh roll and third cup (the waitress didn't seem to mind, how nice of her), when Dark walked through the doors and made his way towards him.

"Are you planning on sharing those?" Dark asked, stopping in front of the table and eyeing Anti's plate of rolls.

Anti pulled the plate towards him. "Hell no. Get your own."

Dark sighed, then slid onto the opposite bench and waved for the waitress. "Was there any reason you couldn't have dealt with those fools on your own?"

Anti shrugged. "I didn't have coffee yet."

He sipped his cup to prove the point, but when he looked over the cup, Dark was staring at him with confusion, and... concern?

"What?"

Dark blinked, like he was caught off-guard. But he didn't get to reply when the waitress came over with the menu, a flimsy folded piece of stained glossy cardboard. He opened it, and stared at the selections for a while.

"Doesn't it bother you?"

Anti was about to bite into his eighth roll when he stopped. "What?"

"Doesn't it bother you," Dark repeated, closing his menu, placing it on the table, and staring at Anti, "that you crave coffee?"

"This body wanted coffee." From Sean's memories, he knew this body's original host really loved coffee.

But Sean loved coffee for the taste. Otherwise, it didn't give him a caffeine rush like it did other people. Hence, in theory, he shouldn't want coffee just to wake himself up.

However, he also knew that Sean was no morning person. Perhaps, along with his rage issues, that caused his grumpiness this morning that only coffee could alleviate?

Wait, _rage issues_? What the _hell_ were those? Where did those words come from, and how did they enter his brain?

Anti frowned in confusion, which Dark took as assent. "See what I mean? We're _elder gods_ , Anti. We should be above things like exhaustion, hunger, and discomfort. Yet yesterday, we almost passed out walking through the desert. Last night, we fell asleep. And right now, we're craving breakfast."

Dark then waved the waitress over again, and placed an order for bacon, sausages, and eggs.

Anti finished his roll, and started chomping down another one. "And your point?"

Dark folded his hands in front of him. "We took these bodies so that we may blend in with humans, and gain little attention until we execute our plans." He paused in thought. "But I think our hosts are beginning to affect us."

"Our hosts are dead." Anti made sure of that, burning out Sean's consciousness while he cried and begged until his screaming stopped.

Dark nodded. "I know, but I didn't necessarily mean their consciousness. I meant their bodies... their bodily needs and desires. I think they're beginning to influence us. The more we rely on these bodies, the more we become them."

Anti nearly spit out his coffee right then. He managed to set it down, before he blurted, "You mean we're going _native_?!"

Dark jumped out of the bench and slammed a hand over Anti's mouth. "Keep it down, you idiot!"

Thankfully, nobody seemed to have noticed their outburst, neither the few patrons nor even the waitress who carried Dark's order. She merely smiled, said "Enjoy your meal!" with a toothy grin, and left.

Dark then settled back on the bench and focused his attention on his breakfast.

"Going with that analogy," Anti said, grimacing, "the more we rely on their remaining memories and emotions to understand humans, the more we're going to become our original hosts, huh?"

"Yesh," Dark replied while biting a piece of bacon.

"But we can't just ditch these bodies, otherwise more crazy people will come after our asses, just like this morning."

Dark nodded, now stuffing his mouth with sausages.

Anti took one long sip of his cup of coffee, finishing it. He then slammed the cup on the table (but the cup was paper, so it wasn't as dramatic as he wanted it to be), and declared, "We really need to bust this joint and get to civilization."

Dark looked contemplative for a moment, then sighed in dejection. "I'd grab a bottle of wine first, except I don't know how alcohol will affect me."

Anti shrugged. "If it makes you feel better, I'll drink for the both of us."


	5. classic or cliche?

**summary:** another serious conversation is held...while washing dishes in the back kitchen of a diner.

* * *

Their plans for leaving town were put on hold, however, when Dark realized that A) they only had literally the clothes on their backs when Anti stood up and revealed his still-bloody-and-bullet-hole-ridden shirt ("What's your problem? Nobody noticed!"); and B) they had no more cash to pay for their breakfast, which made the cute waitress frown for the first time since they arrived, and the two of them reconsider their options.

Anti, as usual, was no help at all. "What are you so worried about?" he stage-whispered. "We can just leave."

"And risk the establishment calling local authorities on us?" Dark shot back. "No, we must be discreet. This morning was a close call. We will never reach a city if we keep attracting attention."

He expected Anti to fight him on this, but he merely shrugged. Breakfast must have improved his mood. "Okay, so now what?"

Hence their current undignified, but necessary, situation: washing the dishes in the diner's kitchen.

"I can't believe there are actually people who still do this shit," Anti said, rinsing and drying a dish to Dark's right, but he sounded amused.

"Less talking, more working," Dark snapped, passing him a well-scrubbed and soapy dish. "The faster we finish this, the faster we can leave."

"Geez, it's not my fault they made _you_ scrub, and me dry," Anti replied, taking the dish carefully like Dark told him to. "Besides, it was your idea to stay and pay."

"No, _my_ idea was to find work around here to pay the bills. It was the _chef's_ idea to make us do this... _filthy_ errand."

"Well, this _is_ work."

"Don't be a smartass. You know what I mean: a job more worthy of our skills."

Anti rolled his eyes , which he probably thought Dark wouldn't notice out the corner of his eye. "Dark, we're _demons_ specialized in murder and manipulation, stuck in a diner in a pit stop in the middle of fucking _nowhere_ , so where the _hell_ do you think we can find jobs like those?"

"I noticed a grocery store near the gas station on the way here. We could earn our keep there."

"How is that any better?"

Dark placed a dish into the muddy waters of the sink, turned, and looked Anti dead in the eyes. "It doesn't involve getting food bits on our only clothes."

Anti blinked, then looked down at his damaged shirt. "Yeah, you have a point." He looked back up. "But stacking groceries doesn't sound exciting."

"Not all work is about fun, Anti," Dark grumbled. "Besides, wasn't this morning exciting enough for you?"

Anti groaned and turned back to drying dishes. "You didn't let me kill _anybody_."

Dark went back to his scrubbing as well. "If that hunter was telling the truth, your murder of that truck driver was what made them look for us."

Anti stopped and dropped the dish he was holding, nearly giving Dark a heart attack if he could have one. Luckily, it didn't break into pieces.

" _What are you doing?_ " Dark screeched when he recovered. "We don't need to pay for more stuff!"

Anti ignored him. "Are you blaming me for _everything_?"

Dark blinked. Anti sounded angry, but also... _hurt_?

He paused, considering his next words carefully. In reflection, plenty of the situations they got into since they left that wretched research facility were caused by Anti's impulsiveness. However, Dark couldn't claim he wasn't complicit either. He _did_ goad Anti back in the desert, and he _was_ the one who told Anti to abandon the truck last night when he insisted on giving the dead driver a proper disposal. He wasn't even sure if leaving the hunters alive was the right call. Dark often acted like he knew everything, but he could have a temper that surpassed Anti's.

However, he did know one thing: with Mare gone to who knows where, and Mad left behind in the facility, Anti was the only ally he had left. Besides, Anti could be subtle when he needed to be.

"No," Dark finally replied, feeling some amusement and satisfaction with Anti's surprised reaction. "We both decided to embark on this journey together, and so we both share the burdens and responsibilities."

Confusion, suspicion, then finally giddy excitement passed over Anti's face. "Aww, Dark, I knew you liked me."

Dark snorted. "If we are to rule the world, we have to at least tolerate each other. Now shut up and dry those dishes."

* * *

this began as crack. now we have actual plot.

i was inspired by your kudos to continue this trainwreck, and i ended up writing 2000 words in three hours. thanks, guys. no, really, thanks, it was a fun experience. this time, it's very much un-beta-ed, though.

i know the title is what it is, but i couldn't resist including Natemare and MadPat in this adventure. yes, they'll show up soon.


	6. this time, the party is you

**summary:** a mad scientist literally pops into town.

* * *

After Anti and Dark dealt with the diner problem, they went to check out the nearby grocery store. Anti didn't know if they hired new employees, or even if the pay was good, but it was better to try rather than travel around cashless. Besides, he really needed a new T-shirt.

Damn, he wished he thought of grabbing a bag of clothes before ditching the facility. But if it was any consolation, Dark was in the same boat as he: his tailored suit was fraying at the sleeves and hems, and the black color was fading to a smoky gray under the harsh sun. Hell, at some point, Dark even lost his necktie.

Anyway, it turned out the grocery store only needed one employee: a cashier. However, the gas station just outside also needed a gas boy. Dark, the quick bastard, took the register, which left Anti manning the gas meters.

Anti didn't actually mind the heat which could kill other people. It was the _boredom_ which bothered him. He could see humans from other shops flitting in and out of the store for supplies, since it was the only one around for miles, which meant at least Dark was on his toes. It had been an hour, and not one car drove up to get refueled.

It led to Anti leaning against one of the gas meters, staring at the heatwaves rising off the road nearby, and wishing something would happen. He got answered by something exploding a few meters in front of him, expelling a cloud of dust and cement debris.

" _WHAT THE FUCK?_ " Anti yelled, coughing and blinking his eyes. He waved off the dust and brushed some debris from his gas station uniform, then squinted through the dust cloud to see who dared to interrupt his day.

Was that...a tall, lean human figure?

"Who the fuck is there?" Anti demanded, taking a few steps forward, ready to shape a knife in his hand.

The figure looked towards him, and a familiar voice exclaimed, "Aha! Anti, I found you!"

Anti paused, dropping his aggressive stance. "Mad?"

The cloud finally cleared, and Mad stood in the middle of a crater, wearing a dusty white shirt unbuttoned at the collar, khaki pants, and what seemed to be a leather tool belt. In his right hand, he held what looked like a white remote, while a black duffel bag hung from his left shoulder.

Before Anti could comment, Mad strode out of the crater and hugged him. "Man, it's so good to see you. I wasn't sure if the teleporter would work, but nobody died, so that's a win."

Anti reached up to pat Mad on the shoulder, happy to see another friend as well. "Yeah, it's good to see you again, bro." Then a question popped in his brain. "Wait, what are you doing out here?"

Mad released him from their hug to stare at him, confused, "To find you and Dark, obviously."

"But I thought you wanted to stay behind at that place."

"Ah, right." Mad nodded. "Sorry for that misunderstanding, I'll explain later. Hey, where's Dark?"

On cue, the devil himself entered stage left (or rather, Dark emerged from the grocery store). He looked furious while he marched towards them, though the scary effect was diminished by his cheerful pink-and-yellow uniform. Belatedly, Anti realized humans were coming out of the surrounding buildings to investigate the explosion.

"I don't suggest you hug him," Anti stage-whispered to Mad. Then he turned around, and called out to Dark, "It was his fault!" while jabbing a thumb at Mad behind him.

"Traitor," Mad grumbled.

Dark didn't react or even stop walking, but grabbed them both by the arms when he reached them and dragged them away towards the grocery store.

"Hey, Dark, what's gotten into you?!" Mad yelped.

"You," Dark gritted out through clenched teeth, "just made a _massive_ scene."

Mad, who was normally quick on the draw, looked blank. "I don't think I follow you."

"We're trying to lay low," Anti explained.

Mad blinked at them. "Why? I thought we were taking over the world. That's not exactly subtle."

"We'll explain inside," Dark replied, pulling open the glass doors. "Now get in, before anybody else sees us."

There was nobody else inside the store, so Anti, Dark, and Mad were free to sit at one of the tables and talk. They all stared for a moment, before they began asking questions over each other.

"Okay, since I just crash-landed here," Mad said, holding a hand up to stop the torrent of inquiries, "you two can go ask first."

"How did you find us?" Anti asked, while Dark asked at the same time, "Why are you here?" Anti glared at Dark, annoyed, but Dark just looked exasperated.

Mad chuckled. "Okay, let's start from the beginning. I stayed back at the facility _not_ because I didn't want to leave, but because I wanted to find out what else the scientists were working on. We weren't their only pet projects after all, and I figured they had plenty of technology they were studying and developing. I thought maybe we could use those tech to 'further our cause,' as one would say."

"Did you find anything?" Anti and Dark asked in unison, then they looked at each other again.

Anti wanted to be irritated, but he just found way this too funny, and giggled. "Jinx," he added, just to annoy Dark.

Dark merely rolled his eyes. "Just let me do the asking."

"Hell no." An idea occurred to Anti, cocking his head in consideration. "Maybe we can take turns?"

Dark looked surprised by this suggestion, but then narrowed his eyes. "Then who goes first?"

Anti shrugged. "Rock-paper-scissors?"

"Are you juvenile?" Dark asked, but he was already shaking one fist up and down.

"No, I'm Anti." He grinned while he shook his own fist. There was no way he was going to lose this.

Dark threw paper. Anti threw rock.

Dark showed his most smug smile yet, and for a moment Anti wanted to wipe him off the face of the planet. He didn't have to be so _cocky_ about it. "I win."

"Fuck." He'll get him next time, see if he's still smiling after Anti destroys him in rock-paper-scissors. "Okay, you ask first, then me after."

" _Anyway_ ," Mad continued, liked he hadn't witnessed the most serious throwdown ever, "unfortunately, I didn't. The scientists were very careful: they either transferred or destroyed anything useful, before we or anybody else found them."

"So your stay was useless, then," Dark mused.

Mad shook his head, and pulled out a hard drive from his duffel bag. " _Not_ exactly. They didn't manage to erase their entire electronic database, so I found all their research notes. I copied those in this hard drive, and used them to recreate a teleporter used to transfer cargo, with some parts I found around the facility, and a few modifications to account for our...species."

Anti frowned. "I still don't get how you found us."

"I was _just_ getting to that part." Mad then pulled out the white remote he held earlier, its shell shattered and some exposed circuits sparking off. "The scientists spend years studying us, right? They found that our energy signatures, or 'aura,' as they called it, is different from anything in this world. This teleporter detects people or objects using their aura, and then transfers them by transporting their energy from one place to another. I simply tweaked its algorithm to detect yours and Dark's aura, which they carefully recorded."

"Wait," Dark said, contemplating the teleporter, "if this thing can find Anti and me, could it track down Mare as well?"

A silence both awkward and tense fell over their table when they remembered Mare: Anti mused that the bad blood hadn't dried yet. The scientists believed Mare wasn't powerful without a musical instrument, so he was the least guarded of them four. Hence, when they staged their escape, Mare blew his guards' eardrums out with a scream and slipped out quite easily - leaving the rest of them to their own "security problems." In the past, Anti tolerated the guy, since he was quite chill most of the time. Of course, the whole "ditching them at the worst possible moment" kind of soured any previous good will.

Hell, Dark even said he wouldn't leave Anti behind, and that counted as something. Okay, they _did_ piss each off most of the time, but they've stuck with each other out here as well. Dark may often act stuck-up, but he was just as bad as Anti himself when craving for attention.

Anti then decided to break up the quiet. "Why the hell should we worry about that bastard?"

"Don't misunderstand my intentions," Dark replied. "I'm not worried about his well-being. I just want to snap his neck and rip out his intestines."

Yup, that was the Dark he knew, and he was still pissed.

If Mad looked confused before, he looked more concerned now. "Come on, guys, let's not jump to conclusions. Maybe he has a good reason for leaving us behind like he did." Of course he'd say that; Mad and Mare were quite close back in the facility.

Dark glared at Mad. "Like what?"

"Let's think about this logically. In escapes, it's best if every man looked out for themselves."

Anti frowned. "I'm a demon, and even _I_ think that's cold."

Mad shrugged. "Well, your host did have a bleeding heart, maybe you're catching it."

Anti stopped, and felt Dark freeze next to him as well.

Mad noticed their pause. "Yeah, it was in their notes as well. They observed that the more we adapted to this reality using our bodies, the more we gained traits from our hosts. I wish this wasn't really happening, but I can't tell you how many times I craved for Diet Coke while working on the teleporter."

"How many times _did_ you crave for Diet Coke?"

"Shut up, Anti," Mad snapped, rolling his eyes.

Dark merely sighed. "You never answered my question. Can you or can you not find Mare?"

Mad frowned. "Don't take it personally, but no. The teleporter became unstable when I used it, probably because it was never intended to transport someone with my aura to begin with. _Hence_ , the explosion outside. I _can_ repair it, but I'll need better parts than the ones I found."

As if on cue, the teleporter gave off a fee sparks, a sharp _*pop*_ , and _literally_ fell apart in Mad's hand, scattering wires and parts all over the table. They stared at its remains.

"Yup, I have to fix it; it's as dead as dear old Matthew," Mad commented.

Dark tsked. "So Mare gets to live another day."

Anti agreed. Besides, they had other problems. "Say, Mad, you don't happen to have some money on you, eh?"

Mad looked at Anti, then at Dark, like he was wondering if they were playing a joke on him. "Why are you asking?"

"We need to blend in with humans until we can find a suitable place for our plans," Dark explained. "To do so, we need cash."

Mad blinked. "Here _does_ seem like a ghost town. Not the best place to start world domination. But, can't we just take what we want? We're _superior beings_ , after all."

"I killed a guy yesterday, so this morning two guys showed up in our motel room and tried to kill us," Anti said, grimacing at the memory of those jerks.

Dark nodded. "What Anti means is if we don't act like upstanding citizens, people will figure out who we are and destroy us."

"And then we'll never get to take over the world," Mad finished. "I see your point."

Anti ran a hand through his hair. "So? Do you _have_ money?"

"Stop asking that, you make it sound like we're begging," Dark admonished.

"Well, we _are_ ," Anti replied. "The longer we work in this dump, the faster I'll lose my mind."

Meanwhile, Mad grabbed his duffle bag and began rifling through it. "I just grabbed this bag to store some knick-knacks, but who knows, there could be a stray wallet around here somewhere."

Anti leaned over the table, holding their breath, and Dark copied his movement, until Mad took out a slightly-bulging dark brown wallet. "Aha! Looks like we hit the jackpot."

"WE'RE SAVED!" Anti and Dark shouted in unison, standing up and hugging each other. Then Anti realized what he just did, at the same time as Dark, and they both jumped away from each other.

"Nice to know I'm appreciated, guys," Mad said, mock-sounding like he felt left out.

Anti sat back down, trying to erase the previous five seconds from his brain, while Dark took a small bow towards Mad. "Thank you, Mad."

Mad looked startled for a moment. Then with a shit-eating grin, he asked, "Does this mean _now_ I'm your sugar daddy?"

Dark sat back down while he and Anti both stared at Mad.

Then, without breaking eye contact, Anti raised both of his middle fingers in clear view.

Mad only laughed. "Come on now, don't bite the hand that feeds you!"

"If you don't shut up, that's not the only thing I'm biting off."

Dark simply face-palmed.

* * *

 **a/n:** the longest fucking chapter yet, as i tried to balance both plot and humor.

yeah, MadPat demanded he wanted to appear ASAP. don't worry, Natemare's showing up soon.


	7. a stitch in time saves a trip

**summary:** their..."unique" condition turned out to be more serious than anybody thought.

* * *

Dark was more than happy to ditch his hideous grocery store uniform; manning the register turned out to be boring, to say the least, since most of the customers weren't too keen on striking up conversation. From the way Anti gleefully chucked his own uniform in the trash, he felt the same way. Mad simply laughed at their poor decisions. ("What the heck, you actually took _part-time jobs?_ " "We were desperate, okay?!")

He and his merry little group then found a surplus shop not far from the gas station. Dark scowled once he learned there were no quality suits sold there, but he settled for a red plaid flannel shirt and jeans.

"Uhm, guys, you both just picked out one outfit," Mad pointed out, when Dark emerged from the changing stall.

At that moment, Anti came out of the stall next to Dark's, wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

"I thought we needed to save money," Anti reasoned.

Mad shook his head. "I counted the cash, we can spare a few more dollars.

Dark stared at him, and the _thing_ he now wore. "Is that why you have that jacket?"

"What, it's comfy! Plus, it looks cool."

Dark couldn't decide whether to sigh out of pity, or strangle him out of irritation. He instead shot back, "We're in a pit stop in the middle of a desert."

"I thought the idea was, we were seeking greener pastures, Mr. I-Look-Dashing-in-Suits."

Okay, that was a low blow. "Ugh, fine." Dark rolled his eyes, then noticed what Anti just picked up. "Anti, is that a _beret_ on your head?"

"Yeah?" Anti replied breezily.

Was Dark the only one with _both_ sense _and_ taste in this group? "Whatever."

They bought some more clothes, mostly shirts and T-shirts, as well as jeans and underclothes. ("Socks!") Then they realized they needed something to store the clothes in, but Mad's duffel bag was already occupied. ("You're touching this bag over my cold dead body.") Fortunately, the shop also sold backpacks. After everything they bought, they still had some cash left.

"Good," Dark mused, while they stood just outside the surplus shop, "we need a map."

"And a car," Mad added.

"And videogames!"

They both stared at Anti.

"What? We need entertainment. Otherwise, I'd just annoy you guys, you'd get pissed, and we'd kill each other before we reach wherever it is we're going to."

They stared at each other.

"He _does_ have a point," Mad conceded.

Anti being smart: must be a cold day in hell.

"Okay, but our priority is the car," Dark agreed.

Mad frowned. "I don't think we can buy or rent a car from around here."

Anti looked around the street, murmuring the store names to himself. "Yep, you're right. So we steal one?"

"Perhaps we can request a ride from some of the travelers here," Dark suggested. "We pay them once we reach the next town."

"Like an unofficial taxi service?" Anti asked.

Mad didn't look assured. "What if they don't trust us?"

Dark smiled. Charming complete strangers was his specialty. This was his time to shine. "Leave that to me."

Mad only looked more uncomfortable, while Anti rolled his eyes. Heathens.

Dark strolled towards the motel parking lot, Anti and Mad trailing behind him, scanning for potential victims - nope, _new friends_. However, it seemed that the heat was keeping everyone inside either the motel or the other stores.

"This is off to a great start," Anti murmured.

"I heard that, Anti."

Mad shuffled from one foot to another. "Maybe Anti and I can just look for a map. Or videogames."

Dark waved them away, while he extended his empathetic awareness over the motel and the surrounding area.

There's a family of four, but the parents were skittish around each other (marital problems?), while the brother and sister were restless and hostile to one another. The adults would've been manageable, but Dark didn't wish to be involved with children.

There's a six-man gang of bikers, but they're calm and self-assured, and capable of defending themselves. They're not lost souls, but simply those who revel in their freedom. Dark would like to prove them wrong...but besides, he doesn't want to break his neck, _again_ , and riding a motorcycle wasn't his style.

There's a depressive runaway, perfect for breaking, but she's a drifter as well, with nothing but her clothes and her backpack. No sense in messing with her.

There's an old man, a war veteran, who decided to travel the country in his last days. Despite the knowledge of his impending death, he seemed quite content with how he supported his family and served his country. Dark was momentarily puzzled by this: don't humans normally fear death?

There were two bright young women, recently-graduated college students, who were enjoying the last days of summer. Dark reached into their thoughts, shifting through for sorrows and fears, but one of them laughed, oh so familiar, and he got hit by a pang of _longing_ and _loneliness_.

Dark felt himself bend over, a burning sensation in his chest, and a voice he hadn't heard in a long time whispered, _Amy_.

Was he crying?

 _Who_ the hell was Amy?

Dark shook his head, trying to clear the miserable cloud in his head. He vaguely remembered Amy; she was Mark's girlfriend from the time before the facility. But the more he thought about her, the more he recalled the glow in her eyes, her charming smile -

No.

These memories weren't his. They were Mark's.

But Mark was dead.

Or was he?

He took a deep breath and flexed his hands. He still had control over his body. But what about his mind?

"Dearie, are you all right?"

* * *

 **a/n:** okay, i'll be honest with you people: i'm just making up things as i go. i intended this to be pure crack, but then plot happened.

i'm sorry for lying to all of you.

just a few more chapters before Natemare shows up. but the reunion won't be pretty.


	8. what is essential is invisible

**summary:** a trip with some cool old ladies brings up deeply-buried memories. do you remember who you are?

* * *

"I thought you said you handled this," Anti heard Mad grumble in the car seat to his left, his legs folded up almost to his chest.

"I did," Dark replied to his right, distracted by something out the window.

"Then why are we riding with _a bunch of hippie old ladies?_ " Anti stage-whispered, in the center of this mess.

It was proof of how elderly the women seated around them were that they didn't hear Anti's complaint. Or maybe it was because of how loud they kept raving about the open-air concert they were attending.

When Dark came back from the motel parking lot, he gave a short explanation how a traveling group agreed to give them a ride, before pulling them into a tiny, battered, bright green van painted with flowers and paisley. It was occupied by four old ladies who introduced themselves and explained that they were going the last ever concert of their favorite rock band (or was it boy band?), and they didn't want to miss it for the world.

"Show some respect," Dark snapped. "They agreed to let us hitch with them for free."

Mad quickly changed his tune. "Oh my gosh, you people are awesome," he exclaimed, raising his voice above the chattering. The traitorous kiss-up.

The ladies fell silent. Anti mused that with the surprisingly-fast speed the van was going, courtesy of their quiet driver with the china-doll bangs, Lilias, it would be _bad_ if they got thrown out now. They wouldn't die, but it'd _hurt_.

Then the chipper lady with the silver bob, Amelia, turned around from the bench in front of them and replied, "Aww, we think you're cute, too, darling."

Mad ducked his head, and - what the hell, was he _blushing?_

"Dark," Anti began, not liking the lack of information in this situation at all, "what _happened_ back there?"

Dark grimaced for some moments, swallowing and working his jaw, before he spoke. "I...didn't have many...potential targets. Most of them...were within the stores or the motel...to avoid the heat, and I...I didn't want to...cause a scene."

Anti frowned. He understood the need for discretion, but something was off. Dark only paused in sentences for dramatic effect when speaking to humans, but Dark was doing it while talking to _him_ , and the humans around them weren't paying attention. Hell, if Anti dared to think it, Dark almost looked...afraid?

Dark noticed Anti's staring, however, and coughed. He seemed to regain his composure and said, "My abilities don't work as well in the presence of multiple witnesses -"

Huh. Probably explained why the scientists and guards always approached Dark in large groups.

"- however, one of the ladies - the one with the braids, I think her name was Gertrud - approached me and said I reminded her of a celebrity. We struck up a conversation, and when I mentioned we lacked a vehicle, she offered her ride. Her friends came up just when I pointed out you and Mad, and somehow they agreed as well."

Anti blinked at this explanation. He felt as if Dark was hiding something from him, but realized that humans would fly without technology before any one of them could admit some kind of weakness.

Anyway, it wasn't his business, so Anti shrugged. "That's kind of weird, but okay."

"Ooh, what are you whispering about back there?" The lady with the wavy hair, Rose, asked.

Anti opened his mouth to make some witty answer, but Dark elbowed him in the ribs.

"Oof!" Anti glared at Dark, but noticed that Mad was watching them as well. Great, Dark was being a paranoid idiot.

"Nothing," Dark smoothly replied, like he hadn't been breaking down earlier.

Mad narrowed his eyes, but Amelia only giggled. "Your voice is so beautiful. Were you a singer before?"

Dark shrugged. "Somewhat."

Amelia then focused on Anti. "How about you? Got any musical talents?"

Anti knew he wasn't obligated to tell them shit, but decided he liked the attention anyway.

He went through the faint memories left behind by Sean. Did he sing? Anti wasn't sure, but he knew his host had been good with drums. Sean was a fan of heavy metal rock music.

"I play the drums," Anti replied.

All the ladies cooed. Amelia then turned to Mad, "How about you, handsome young man? Any secret skills?"

Mad, startled by the hot seat, looked like he was on the verge of passing out. "Well, I used to sing a little, but -" he jerked in his chair like a puppet, and exclaimed, "- we forgot the videogames!"

For the second time, the car fell silent. Anti recalled that they never got to look for videogames before Dark pulled them ito the van, and decided he wanted to be thrown out the car after all.

Dark looked at him. "I thought _you_ handled that."

"Yeah, except Mad was taking too long picking out maps!" Anti didn't even bother lowering his voice.

Mad became defensive. "I had to check for their accuracy. Did you know that there are actually fake towns put on maps due to copyright issues?"

Anti rolled his eyes. "Nobody cares."

Mad ignored him. "They're called paper towns, and if we decide to stop at one, we could be going around in circles for hours! Days! Maybe even months!"

Anti leaned right into Mad's face, and yelled, "Like I said, _nobody cares!_ "

"ENOUGH!" Dark bellowed, pulling Anti back into his seat. "Anti, you're just upset you didn't get your videogames, _remember we're not alone._ "

Anti then became aware of the four pairs of eyes watching them (well, three, since Lilias was determinedly staring at the road ahead).

Dark grinned sheepishly. "I apologize for their behavior."

Gertrud, from the front seat, asked, "Are you, like, brothers or something?"

"What? No!"

They stared when the ladies, even Lilias, laughed.

"Sorry," Gertrud said, wiping a tear from her eye. "You just reminded us of ourselves when we were young. We got very serious when it came to trivia. Or videogames."

Amelia nodded. " _Especially_ videogames."

"We were quite the competitive team back then," Rose mused. "But it wasn't just about the gameplay. It was the story too."

Anti, Dark, and Mad all jumped when Lilias finally spoke. She had an unusually deep voice. "They don't make games like they used to. It's all about subscriptions and endless combat."

"Yeah!" Amelia agreed. "I remember there used to be people who posted videos of themselves playing games."

Anti felt himself stiffen, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Dark jerk as well.

"Some of then even made theories about those games," Gertrud added. "There were debates and everything, but it was exciting, all those ideas flying around.

Now Mad twitched in his seat.

"Some of them disappeared years ago, though," Amelia said. "Mostly due to losing interest or lack of fan support, but..."

"There was this time where many of them disappeared one after the other." Rose sat up straighter. "I remember that! Their family and friends said they just went missing, and everybody helped in looking."

Lilias sighed. "But all the trails went cold, and they were never seen again."

Anti then noticed that he was _literally_ not breathing, and forced air back into his lungs.

"How long ago was this?" Mad asked, his voice oddly flat.

Rose blinked, and tossed back her hair. "We were teenagers when that happened, so..."

"About fifty years ago," Gertrud supplied.

Rose laughed and smiled at her. "You were always better at math, Getty."

Mad closed his eyes and whispered a word in a mournful tone.

Dark looked alarmed and turned to him, but Mad opened his eyes, which had that sharp gleam before he took apart stuff, and asked, "Was there anything common between the missing people?"

The ladies looked confused, but then Amelia answered, "I think they complained of headaches beforehand? Like they were hearing voices and having nightmares, or something freaky."

"The police said those were coincidental," Lilias pointed out.

Amelia rolled her eyes. "Yeah? Well, the police never solved the disappearances, either. Too bad, I had a tiny crush on that game theorist guy."

"He had a wife," Mad said, closing his eyes again.

"Yeah, poor thing. She never remarried, I heard."

Rose tilted her head, and took a long look at Anti, nearly making him uncomfortable. "You know, you really _do_ look awfully familiar. And that accent, too...have you ever been to Europe?"

"No," Anti replied, too quickly for his liking. He looked to his companions for back-up, but Mad had his head in his hands, and Dark went back to staring out the window.

Anti shrugged, closed his eyes, and let the old ladies' chattering lull him to sleep.

* * *

 **a/n:** no videogames or old ladies were harmed in the making of this chapter.

another long chapter. mostly because while it's from Anti's pov (again), it's both slightly Dark and Mad centric. which brings us to my question: would you people like a Mad (or Mare, when he shows up) pov chapter?

also, sorry for the cliffhangers. i had to stop somewhere.


	9. enjoy the show

**summary:** the trio infiltrate a concert, and witness an unexpected opening act.

* * *

Dark watched the last golden rays of sunset fade from the horizon, and the desert disappear into grassland, while their odd entourage continued along the road.

Anti eventually forgave Mad for the lack of videogames, and borrowed one of the music magazines Gertrud had brought. Meanwhile, Mad had pulled out some gadget from his duffel bag and began tinkering with it, though he hunched over and refused to show off what exactly it was. "It's secret," he said with a smile, when Rose asked.

Dark spent the ride musing over what had happened earlier. He knew that he, as well as Anti, Mad, and Mare, could access their hosts' memories, but they always distanced themselves from the accompanying emotions. However, the way he remembered Amy felt...more real than anything he'd experienced. It was like, for a moment, _he was truly Mark._

But he wasn't Mark. He was an entity of his own, with his own desires and dreams. So why, when the old ladies began talking about the missing people, did he feel he had wasted away fifty years in that facility where he was born? Why did he miss a family he never had, and friends he'd never met?

From time to time, he stole a glance at Anti and Mad. Mad appeared anxious earlier, but tinkering seemed to have improved his mood. Anti flipped through the magazine without a care in the world.

With their cravings for certain foods, did they also hear the echoes of their dead hosts? Did they experience ghostly sensations of warm fur beneath their hands, a soft kiss on the cheek, sweat after a long workout, a pluck of guitar strings, exhilaration after a videogame skillfully won -

"Dark?"

Dark snapped out of his memories ( _his memories?_ That wasn't right), and turned to Anti, who looked at him wih an expression that could pass for concern. "Yes?"

Anti jerked a thumb to their front, where the old ladies were disembarking. "We're here."

Dark sat up, rolled back his shoulders, and cracked his neck. "Ah, of course." He shouldn't be this distracted.

Anti narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure you're okay? You've been really quiet."

Dark glared back. "I'm fine. Just saving my energy, unlike you." He should be focused on making humanity fall in love with him, not going through the memories of a dead man.

Anti shrugged. "Fine, whatever. Hey, Mad, drop that, we're getting off!"

Mad's head snapped up. " _Wait, what?_ "

Dark tried to hide his snorts, while Anti rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know what I said, now get out of the damned car!"

"Okay, okay, just let me store this!"

They had arrived at a clearing not far from a town that looked ten times bigger than the pit stop. Well, the "clearing" wasn't really clear, since it was surrounded by makeshift walls and parked cars, and swarming with people inside.

Dark looked through the crowd, trying to find the old ladies. "Where are Gertrud and the others? We never got to thank them."

"They already went ahead of us," Anti replied. "I already thanked them, and we _did_ agree to part ways after they gave us a ride."

Mad looked at back at the town, then at Dark. "So, now what, fearless leader? Do we find a motel first, or go for a car and continue on?"

"And videogames."

"Yes, and videogames."

Dark frowned; as far as he knew, old people and crowds didn't go well together. "They might need our assistance. This crowd is dangerous."

Anti considered this. "You have a point. These many people packed together, it could trigger health problems. Also, what if there are thieves among them?"

Mad looked at Dark, then at Anti, like they were out of their minds. "Guys, I don't want to be the dissenting opinion here, but there are always medical and security teams for these kinds of events, so they don't need us there. _And_ they didn't ask us for their help."

"Yup. Those ladies look tough, anyway," Anti agreed, "they can probably handle themselves."

Dark and Mad glared at him. " _Whose side are you on?_ "

Anti tried to look innocent. "My own. Personally, I just want to know what music this band's going to play."

Dark smiled. "That is also a plus."

Mad didn't look convinced. "May I remind you we don't have tickets, so we can't go -"

Before he could finish his sentence, Anti grabbed the two and teleported them into a space inside the venue, just at the edge of the crowd. Nobody noticed them in the dark, since they were all focused on the concert that was about to begin.

"- inside," Mad finished. He glared at Anti. "Why don't you just teleport to a city if you keep doing that?"

"'Cause I can only teleport within nearby distances?" Anti replied. "Come on, Mad, you knew that."

Dark took several deep breaths. Anti's teleportation felt weird, compared to traveling in his own void. "I feel like my insides got tangled up."

"Oh, don't be a baby. Now do your thing and find our senior citizens."

Keeping a tight grip on their bags, they pushed their way through the sea of people. Dark extended his awareness (taking care not to linger too long on emotions), until he found Gertrud and her friends near the front seats.

"Found them."

"Great, now what?" Mad asked. "We can't approach them because _we don't have actual seats_ , and people will notice if we just stand -"

Dark pulled his two companions by the shoulders towards him and called upon his void. Colors faded away, conversations dropped to whispers, and people moved unaware around them while he shrouded their group in shadows.

"- around. Seriously, this is a pointless use of our powers."

Anti grinned. "You think? I say it's pretty cool."

Dark preened. "Thank you, Anti."

"Don't let it go to your head, Darkie-boy."

The spotlights went off, leaving the stars above as the only illumination, and a deep voice, announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Last Ride! Right here in their hometown of Little Prairie, Eli, Hale, John, and Andrew will perform their best hits as _ORIGIN OF SANITY!_ "

The crowd roared, though to the three of them, it registered as a sound muffled underwater.

"But before they begin, they would like to introduce some new talent, which they hope will entertain you for years to come. Please welcome...NATEMARE!"

The spotlights flickered back on, focused on a lone guitarist onstage. One wearing a black shirt, matching black jeans, and a pair of purple tearstreaks down his cheeks.

" _What's up, Little Prairie!_ " He greeted, while the rest of the spotlights lit up to reveal the back-up band. Purple and grey smoke began rolling across the stage.

Dark registered Anti cursing under his breath, and Mad going stock still, but he wasn't able to react other than letting his jaw drop.

* * *

 **a/n:** disclaimer: i've only attended a few concerts in my life, and all of them were in buildings.

also, i have no originality. the band name came from Markiplier.


	10. history repeats in ignorance

**summary:** when sound waves encounter an opposing force, they bounce back. one can't deny their changing natures forever.

* * *

Anti couldn't believe his eyes: Mare in the flesh, singing the intro lyrics to a song like he'd been doing it all his life. Like he hadn't walked away from all of them and never looked back.

A million questions ran through his head: why was he here? Was this his plan, to sing humans into submission? _How_ did he get up there in the first place? Why didn't he seem to sense their presence?

He could hear Dark saying something, arguing with Mad, but he ignored them and stepped forward. His fingers twitched for a knife, wanting to run up the stage and shut up that two-faced asshole, but then the drums began to play.

He recognized these sounds, even through the barriers of Dark's void. He heard them before, hundreds of different beats and pitches, switched and mixed to create a thousand symphonies. This was his _jam._

His fingers twitched for something thinner and more blunt. He wanted to run up that stage and join them in crafting emotions from their fingertips. _It had been so long..._

Then a strong hand grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Anti? Snap out of it!"

Anti turned, and saw Dark looking at him with concern. Mad stood off by the side, watching them both with wariness.

"What happened?" Dark asked. "You spaced out for a minute."

Anti blinked. He didn't know himself.

"Mare's music isn't supposed to affect you," Mad pointed out.

"It's not that," Anti snapped, surprised by his own temper. He had no reason to be irritated. He took a deep breath to calm down, and continued, "It's nothing."

Dark still kept a hand on his shoulder. "Mad doesn't want us here. We can leave and come back later, if you want."

On one hand, he didn't want to let Mare out of his sight for one second. On the other, it looked like Mad was ready to fight them if he or Dark tried anything murderous. Plus, these drumbeats were pulling him under, again, towards something he didn't want to examine at all.

Anti decided that this time, discretion was the better part of valor. "Okay, let's get out of here," he announced, shrugging Dark off.

"What about Gertrud and the others?" Mad asked.

Dark glanced at the old ladies in their seats, clapping their hands to the beats. "Fine, I'll stay here and keep an eye on them."

"Nope, you're not."

Dark groaned in irritation. "I know you don't trust me, Mad, but look around you. Do you really think I can do _something_ around these many people?"

Mad scowled for a moment. "How about this? You and Anti can leave, and I'll stay here."

"How good is your word?"

"Better than a chronic liar's."

Dark glared at him, and Mad threw his arms up. "Listen," Mad said, "I'm also angry he left us, but if the situations were reversed, you would've done the same thing."

Fuck, he had a point. Dark and he had been so busy stewing in their own sense of betrayal that they never considered that. If Anti had gotten out first, would he have left the others to their imprisonment?

The obvious answer was 'yes,' but it left a terrible taste in his mouth. Back in the facility, he treasured the rare times he met Dark, Mad, or Mare in testing; the sterile silence of his padded cell and the facility staff proved maddening, and bickering with the other three while they ran gauntlets together was welcomed interaction. No, he wouldn't want to leave them behind.

Anti and Dark took their sweet time answering, though, because Mad took their silence as agreement, and raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

Dark glanced at Anti, like he needed permission. Anti decided that they could catch Mare after his number ended, while Mad was distracted, and then...what? Beat the crap out of him?

They'd cross that bridge when they got to it (or maybe even burn it). Anti nodded, which made Dark sigh and say, "Okay, we'll be outside, but don't let Mare out of your sight."

Mad placed a hand on his chest. "Scout's honor."

"You're no scout," Dark replied, then turned and walked away. Anti jogged after him through the crowd, which parted mindlessly to give them space.

"Won't you tire out hiding him as well?" Anti asked, glancing back at Mad's direction.

"No," Dark replied, "it's not much of a great distance, and there are only three people I'm hiding. How far do you need to go?"

"What?"

Dark spared a glance at him. "There's something about the music that's affecting you. It may not be Mare's doing, but better to be safe than sorry."

Holy shit, Dark was much more observant than he realized. But he didn't want the guy to stretch himself thin. "Maybe just outside the venue."

When they reached the outside, the beat of the drums were much fainter, and the cold evening air was a wake-me-up.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Dark asked.

"Hell no." It was sharper than expected, but Anti _really_ didn't want to discuss _feelings_ right now. Or ever.

He could feel Dark staring at him in disappointment, but Anti focused on looking up the sky, at the stars. They were beautiful, he thought, unlike the darkness from where he was born and raised.

Thinking about it now, Anti realized where those musical urges came from: Sean, his host, who he never liked for being so _soft_ and _humble_. He despised Sean's lack of ambition; he could've been so much more than a guy who played videogames. Like an actor, a TV host, a rock star, maybe even a politician.

He had to admit, though, Sean had _fire_. It took a long time for Anti to take over his body, but Sean's kidnapping by the facility sped up the process. Even so, Sean never gave up hope on escape, and only when the scientists deliberately called Anti out did he weaken. Shame, really...it was that stubbornness which attracted Anti to him in the first place.

But now Sean was haunting him in a way he never expected: through his memories. Perhaps his host was coming back for a second round? Well, too _fucking_ bad, Anti wasn't planning on giving up this existence. He liked this world, and he was staying.

Anti decided it was enough time for dilly-dallying. "We should go."

Dark tilted his head in that ridiculous manner of his. "You want to go back inside?"

Anti shook his head. "No, we should go find Mare."

Dark stared at him, then looked back at the entrance. "Yeah, his song is over. But Mad said -"

"I know what Mad said," Anti replied, rolling his eyes. "He wants us to hear him out? Then we'll hear him out. If his excuses suck, then we can kick his ass."

Dark nodded. "That's acceptable."

Anti glanced at the hundreds of cars parked around the venue. "There should tour buses or trailer vans near the backstage area. Think you can handle anybody who tries to stop us?"

Dark smiled, and it was neither friendly nor comforting. "You never had to ask."

* * *

 **a/n:** this was the chapter where they were supposed to confront Natemare, but then Anti wanted his own introspective chapter.

just two more chapters, then i'll close the first act and maybe take a hiatus. this fic is killing me.


	11. true friends stab you in the front

**summary:** what's a little violence between fellow former lab rats?

* * *

Dark expected that they had to slip past security and crew through the backstage in order to find Mare.

What he _didn't_ expect was for Mare to be standing outside the backstage area, his arms crossed and one foot slowly tapping the ground like he was waiting for something.

Anti paused. "You think he sees us?"

"Yes," Mare called out, startling then both, "and I can hear you as well."

Dark frowned. "You didn't seem as aware back there."

Mare threw his hands up. "What, did you want me to drop everything and say hello?" He grinned, though it didn't reach his eyes. "'The show must go on,' as they always say."

Anti scoffed, crossing his arms. "Typical. Just like you ignored us back at the facility."

Mare's smile dropped, and a tense silence fell over them. Dark took a deep breath to center himself and not throttle Mare, but he felt Anti widen his stance beside him.

Then Mare threw his head back and sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? For leaving all of you behind."

Dark resisted his rising temper, for Mad's sake, and declared instead, "That's not enough. We want to know what happened back there."

"Why didn't you help us?" Anti added, flexing his fingers.

Mare shrugged. "What do you want me to say? That I saw a chance of getting out, and took it without thinking of anything else? That I thought while I was leaving that you guys could handle yourselves without me? That the sonic attack was a risk that I didn't think would actually work?"

He took a deep breath and continued, "I understand if you can't forgive me for thinking of myself. Hell, I can't even forgive _myself_. I left you guys and Mad behind, and I didn't know if any of you actually made it out."

He looked at Anti. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you guys are okay." Then he looked Dark straight in the eyes. "I guess Mad didn't make it, huh?"

Part of Dark very much wanted to strangle Mare, but part of him also realized that Mad was right, and Mare was simply reacting to the sudden chance of escape. Mare's speech something sounded sincere enough, and from the way Anti relaxed his posture, he realized that as well. Dark hated it when Mad was right.

"Uhm, actually," Anti began, "Mad's with us."

It was rare for Mare to express surprise, but this was one of those times. "Wait, what?" He looked around the parked cars around the backstage area. "But I don't seen him nearby."

"We left inside the concert area," Dark explained, "to watch over some senior citizens who had assisted us in coming here."

Mare now looked more confused. "Will you take me to him?"

Anti shrugged and glanced at Dark, who nodded. It would be easier for them to talk all together.

Mare was silent when they made their way back to Mad. Anti seemed uneasy when they entered the concert area again, though his attention was sharper now.

Mad still stood at the aisle near the old ladies' seats, wearing a heavy scowl and tapping something on his pants. When Dark tapped him on the shoulder, he exclaimed, "Took your sweet time, did you? Well, nothing's happened _like I told you it wouldn't,_ so can we -"

Then he turned, and saw Mare. "- MARE!"

Mare smiled and opened his arms. "Mad? It's good to see you again!"

Mad returned the smile, then pulled up the thing he was holding, and _shot Mare with yellow electricity._

It hit Mare clean in the chest, making him convulse for a few seconds before falling back. Anti caught him from behind, before he crashed into any concert-goers or the ground.

Both Dark and Anti stared in shock at the semi-conscious Mare in Anti's arms, before Anti looked up and glared at Mad. " _What the hell, I thought he was your friend?!_ "

Mad didn't look apologetic, but only blew smoke away from the thing he shot Mare with, which looked like a taser. "He is, but like I said, I'm still pissed at him."

"He already apologized!"

"And did you accept his apology?"

Anti glanced at Dark: _back me up here._ Dark couldn't decided whether he wanted to scream or cry at this absurdity. Instead, he concluded that they were all tense from a long day, and said the immortal lines, "Let's just take this outside."

"I'm not carrying him," Anti complained.

Mare chose that moment to jerk awake. "I'm okay," he murmured, waving a hand in the air.

Dark looked him over for injuries, but the burns on his chest were already healing (leaving some small holes on his shirt). "Can you walk?"

Mare stumbled onto his feet. "I think so. Maybe." He took one glance at Mad, and inched away to put Anti between them.

Once they were outside the concert venue again, Dark dismissed the shadows of his void and turned to Mad to address the biggest question on his mind. "Okay, first of all, what the hell was _that_?"

Mad held up the taser. "You mean this? I was working on it on the way here -"

"Fuck, I _knew_ that looked familiar," Anti interjected.

"- it's a stun gun I made based on the electric batons the scientists used to prod us with. Well, before they realized they didn't really work. I made some modifications so that it would actually have some effect on us -"

Did Mad just admit to making a weapon that could potentially hurt them? "Were you just waiting to test it on _one of us?_ "

Only now did Mad looked sorry. "Okay, to be honest, I didn't think you or Anti would take me seriously, so I set the gun to stun you if either of you tried to attack Mare."

"Then why the hell did you shoot me?!" Mare asked.

Mad shrugged. "I was planning to stun your ass too, anyway. I brought it out in case someone tried anything with those old ladies, but I saw you earlier than expected, I forgot to change the settings, and, well..." He smiled in a cold and sinister manner. "Spur of the moment."

For a moment, the three of then just stared at Mad.

"Mad, dismantle that gun _immediately_ ," Dark ordered.

"Remind me never to piss _you_ off," Anti murmured.

"I'm sorry for leaving you behind," was all Mare said.

Mad laughed. "In order: no, yes, and I forgive you." He looked at Dark and Anti. "How about you guys? You okay with Mare?"

Anti tapped a finger on his chin. "I never got the chance to stab you," but he said this without genuine hostility.

Mare held his hands up in defense. "Please don't."

Anti pouted, but said, "Will you settle for a punch instead?"

"Okay, fine, but -"

Anti flash-stepped forward, and landed a no-holds-barred right hook on Mare's jaw, sending him sprawling a few feet away on the ground.

Dark looked the unmoving Mare over. "I think you killed him."

Mare held up a hand, the bruises on his face already fading away, and waved in reply. "I'm okay."

Anti made a show of waving his hand and massaging it. "Damn, that felt good. Your turn, Dark."

Dark didn't want to strangle Mare and rip out his intestines anymore, especially since he didn't fight back when Mad and Anti hit him, but he had to do _something_ to ease his grudge. So instead, he walked over and offered a hand to Mare.

"Oh, thanks, dude -"

And took his hand away, leaving a rising Mare to snatch at empty air and sprawl back on the ground.

Mare stared at the clear night sky. "Okay, you guys feeling better now?" he asked, sounding very tired.

Despite his expectations, Dark did. "Yes," he said, going to help Mare up for real this time. "But if you pull something like that again -"

"What? Are we planning to get captured by that facility _again_?" Mare replied while he got back on his feet, but he looked relieved to be part of their group once more.

"I _did_ blow up the facility when I left," Mad mused.

Dark stared at him. "You didn't mention that."

"I didn't? Well, now I have."

"Anyway, no, I won't ditch you guys again," Mare continued. "We still have a lot to talk about."

"Won't they be looking for you?" Anti pointed out, jerking a thumb at the concert venue.

"Nope," Mare replied, "I'm just the opening act, and it's a one-time gig anyway, so they don't really need me."

"Which reminds me," Dark began, "why and how did you go onstage tonight?"

Mare rolled his eyes. "Okay, the original opening band had a... _falling out_ , with the production crew yesterday, so they needed replacements fast. I happened to be looking for a side job in town, and heard what happened. I auditioned as a singer on the spot, and I got it," he finished with a grin.

"So you just walked up and they accepted you?" Mad asked in disbelief.

Mare shrugged. "Yup, I'm that good." He looked at all of them and grinned. "So, what have _you_ guys been up to?"

* * *

 **a/n:** this wasn't as spectacular as i thought it would be.

okay, the next chapter might take a while, because it's being a bitch to write.


	12. winner, winner, chicken dinner

**summary:** the past and the future are discussed over dinner.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Mare began, glancing at Anti, " _you_ got stabbed in the neck by the truck driver you hitched a ride with."

"Hey, I stabbed him back," Anti replied, throwing his hands up in self-defense.

"And _you_ ," Mare turned, staring at Dark, "would have been murdered in your sleep by a bunch of 'hunters,' had Anti not woken up."

Dark wrinkled his nose. "You make it sound like I owe him."

Anti took offense to that. "Yes, you do, you ungrateful jerk."

Dark sighed. "Well, _I_ was the one who had to scare them away, because you up and _left_."

Mare ignored them. "And _you_ ," he continued, now glaring at Mad, " _nearly blew yourself up with that teleporter_."

Mad giggled nervously. "Well, nobody died, right? I took the necessary precautions!"

The other three stared at him, unimpressed with his excuse.

"What 'precautions'?" Dark asked.

Mad blinked. "Is that rhetorical, or..."

Mare sighed in defeat. "I was right to be fucking worried. Two days, and you're already getting yourselves killed."

Anti took offense to _that_. "Watch it, Nightmare-boy, you just got back on our good sides," he admonished, cracking his knuckles for emphasis.

But Mare only waved him off. "On top of that, our human bodies are affecting us. Explains this feeling in my gut, though - I thought it was just worry and guilt."

"When was the last time you ate?" Mad asked.

"...I don't remember," Mare replied after a pause.

Anti had the strange and sudden urge to rub a clothes iron on his own face. "Before you start crying over our almost-being-dead," he began, "you should take care of yourself and eat something." He paused, realizing he was also hungry. "Actually, we should all grab some bites."

"There's a restaurant nearby where the crew have been getting their food," Mare said, pointing out its direction.

"And the old ladies?" Dark asked.

Mad groaned. "Dark, they'll be fine. Like Anti and I said before, they can handle themselves."

"Hey, don't bring me into this," Anti piped up, not liking his sudden association at all.

"I'll hold you to that," Dark said, rolling his eyes at Mad. Then he glanced at Mare, or more specifically, his face, where the purple streaks were still visible. "You should hide your true form, before people recognize you when it's light."

Mare looked blank for a second, before slapping his hands on his cheeks. "Shit, I forgot to change! Why didn't you guys tell me?"

Anti shrugged. "Because it's dark out, we only noticed now, and we were busy forgiving your sorry ass anyway? And hey, we're telling you _now_."

"You should probably change your shirt while you're at it," Mad pointed out, while Mare's appearance _shifted_ , like oil shimmering in water, before it settled, leaving behind a clean face and normal eyes.

"This 'hiding-in-plain-sight' gig is going to be hard, huh?" Mare replied, looking down at his shirt. "Guess I shouldn't have gone onstage tonight. And I don't have any extra shirts."

But Dark shook his head, then opened his backpack, pulled out a shirt, and tossed it to Mare. "A little publicity won't hurt anyone. Besides, we need the money."

Mare laughed, pulling off his shirt while everyone else looked away politely. "Good thing I demanded cash up front."

After Mare ditched his hole-ridden shirt in trash, they left the makeshift parking lot of the concert venue and went looking for the restaurant. It turned out to be very different from the diner from the pit stop: the tables, chairs, walls, columns, partitions, and floor were made from dark, grainy, polished solid wood; the low-hanging orange lampshades shone dim yellow lightbulbs; potted plants were placed in several corners; and a deep tangy aroma of different herbs and spices hung in the air. A sizeable number of customers, half-filling the restaurant, had soft but merry conversations, amidst the clinking of cutlery, plates, and glasses, and the soft jazz music from speakers in the ceiling.

"This place looks expensive," was all Anti remarked.

Mare chuckled. "It's not. The crew members said you can get chicken and fries here for a steal."

Dark perked up at that, and looked around. "Do we need to wait to get seated?"

"No, I heard it's first come, first served -"

Anti sensed that Dark had gone before Mare even finished his sentence. When he looked around, he saw Dark sitting at a round table for four in a far-off corner, his hands clasped in front of him on the tabletop, staring at them impatiently.

"Did he _teleport?!_ " Mad exclaimed, both surprised and confused by Dark's actions.

Anti shook his head. "Nope, he walked very, _very_ fast."

When they got seated, a waitress came over and handed them their menus: stiff, glossy, foldable cardboard somewhat rough at the edges, but otherwise clean and clear in text. The four of them all ordered the chicken and fries, which turned out to be the special.

"So, what exactly did _you_ do when you left the facility?" Mad asked, as a way of starting the conversation. Terrible starter, but Anti had to admit he was curious as well.

Mare chewed his lip for a moment, before sighing. "When I broke out of the facility, I grabbed one of the trucks they had and drove the hell out of there. Didn't stop driving until I ran out of fuel in the middle of this town, but by then I was so exhausted I felt asleep at the wheel. A passing policeman woke me up and told me I parked at an illegal spot, but I ran before he could give me a ticket. I've been wandering around thinking about my options ever since - well, before I got hired for the concert."

"So that concert gig -" Anti began.

"Why didn't you -" Dark said as well.

Anti stared at Dark, who glared back, and felt a sense of deja vu. This was funny before, but it was getting old fast.

"Rock-paper-scissors?" Dark suggested, without a hint of sarcasm. He raised a loose fist to prove it.

Mad face-palmed. "Here we go again," he mumbled, sounding bored.

Mare looked at all of them, mouth hung open. "What is going on?"

Anti narrowed his eyes in confusion. "I thought you said it was juvenile."

Dark didn't break eye contact. "Yes or no, Anti."

Anti grinned. Good, Dark understood him now. "My time for redemption."

Dark threw scissors. Anti threw rock.

Anti would have whooped if it wasn't appropriate in a public restaurant. Instead, he pumped up one fist in the air. "Ha! I win this time!"

"What exactly did you win?!" Mare asked, his voice slightly higher from anxiety.

Dark only rolled his eyes, pretending not to be a sore loser, while Mad removed his hand from his face and flatly replied, "He gets to ask his question first."

Mare deflated. "Oh."

Anyway, this was an opportunity not to be wasted. "So that concert gig _wasn't_ part of your plan for world domination?"

Mare blinked at him. "No? I was more worried about you guys. I wanted to go back so badly, but by the time I made up my mind, the truck already got towed away. That was when I realized I needed cash to get a ride."

"Hence the opening act," Dark concluded. "Well, _have_ you acquired a car?"

Mare shook his head. "Nope, but I heard there's a used-car sale near the edge of town. I was hoping to get something cheap there."

Mad contemplated this. "I don't think our combined funds will be enough, but if it comes to the worst, we can just let Dark do all the talking."

Dark smiled. "Of course."

Anti wasn't convinced. "Oh, just like with those old ladies?"

Dark glared at him. "We _did_ get a ride, didn't we?"

Anti frowned and crossed his arms. Dark was _not_ telling them something, since the old ladies told him to "take care of their Asian friend," before they parted ways, which had been buzzing at the back of his mind.

(He tried not to remember the drumbeats. Sean can _never_ come back, he told himself.)

"Anyway," Mad continued, "that's for tomorrow, when we get the rest of what we need for our trip. Tonight, we should find somewhere to sleep. So, where have you been staying, Mare?"

Mare looked startled by the sudden attention. "Uhm, I broke into someone's apartment?"

They all stared at him.

"Look, the couch looked comfy, and all I had to do was break the windows! Then I sang a song and made the guy see stuff, so he got the hell out of there."

Nobody said anything in reply.

Mare shrugged helplessly. "Guy had excellent beer, though."

Dark cocked his head. "I never did get my wine."

* * *

 **a/n:** sorry for the late update. i wasn't kidding when i said this chapter was a bitch to write.

also, i was wrong. i need two more chapters to wrap up act one.

next chapter: previous events come back to punish the boys.


	13. no rest for the wicked

**summary:** it's a literal race against time.

* * *

Considering the exhausting day before, Dark woke up on the right side of the bed.

Their entourage decided they couldn't crash at Mare's appropriated apartment, in the event that the real owner came back or reported the "haunting" to authorities. They ended up booking at another motel, one both shadier and uglier than the last; because they were saving up for the car, they had no choice but to share two rooms, fortunately with two singles.

It didn't help that after dinner, all three of his companions _actually_ and _physically_ restrained Dark from buying alcohol. ("Darkie-boy, believe me when I tell you it's a bad idea. A _very_ bad idea." "You promised to drink for both of us." "THAT WAS A JOKE, CHRIST ON A BIKE.") Small mercies allowed both him and Anti to fall asleep immediately when they hit the mattresses.

Speaking of the idiot, Anti was gone when Dark rose from slumber. Dark hoped that Anti wasn't getting himself into trouble, and set out to clean himself up.

Dark had pulled on a blue T-shirt with a large stylized "G" on it, when someone knocked on the door and yelled, "Dark, open up, we got trouble!"

Dark sighed. So much for hope. "What did Anti do this time?"

There was a groan from the other side of the door. "It's me, you moron! It's Anti!"

"Oh." Dark strode over and swung open the door, revealing a peeved Anti in a light-grey hoodie and that silly driving cap, holding a covered paper cup of, presumably, coffee. "What did you do this time?"

Anti scowled. "Why do you always think that somehow, it's my fault?!"

Dark raised an eyebrow. "Because your solution to everything is to stick a knife in it?"

Anti opened his mouth, then closed it. Then he said, "Okay, you have a point. But that's not the issue right now."

"Then what is?"

Anti took a deep breath. "I heard that there were a bunch of armed men in black sweeping the town. Some tourists were complaining at the coffeehouse because they closed all the roads in and out of town."

Dark froze. He didn't know if they were being hunted again, but this situation screamed _danger_ to him.

"Anti, how many is 'a bunch'?"

Anti shook his head. "I don't know. Eight vans?"

Fuck. _Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck._

"How close are they?"

"Based on what I've heard, they're still near the edge of town. But, Dark -"

"I know, the car," Dark replied, moving to grab their bags. "We need to get out of here first, then we'll figure something out." He began to stuff their belongings into the bags. "Anti, you need to wake up Mad and Mare."

"On it."

By the time Dark went to the lobby and returned the room key to the motel receptionist, Anti came down with a groggy Mare and a worried Mad in tow.

"I'm kind of surprised _and_ disappointed it took them two days," Mare said, while their group walked out of the motel. "I'd expected them to assemble a search party sooner."

"Who's 'them'?" Mare asked, stifling a yawn while they paved the sidewalk.

Mare looked thoughtful. "At this point, it could be anyone. The hunters, normal police, the facility -"

"We killed everyone at the facility," Anti stage-whispered. He really needed to work on his whispering, especially in public.

"Yeah, but remember, not all their employees were working there at that time," Mad pointed out. "Some of them might have heard the distress signal before I cut it off, and done something to investigate."

"Look, it doesn't matter who's after us," Dark declared. "What we need to do is keep a low profile while gathering supplies. By the time we're done, they would've moved on and we can get the car."

"I'll go with Mare to get new clothes," Mad offered. "You and Anti can get our map and anything else we need."

"Wait, we're splitting up?" Mare asked. "How are we supposed to meet up again?"

"I suppose this means we need to get cellphones as well," Mare mused. "Let's do that first?"

"I noticed a tech store selling phones while I was looking for coffee," Anti commented. "It's not far from here."

The tech store was a brightly-lit, not too small but not too large store with shelves on the wall lined from ceiling to floor with various gadgets of varying quality...and prices. A brown-haired, thick-framed ruddy old man with a scruffy beard, a baseball cap, and a flannel shirt sat behind the counter, glaring at their group, while a lanky, pale teenage boy with a bowl cut and a white button-down sat beside him, holding a phone and focused on it. Nobody else was inside the store, or even passing it by outside.

The old man nudged the teenage boy's ribs with an elbow. "Oi, Gary, we got company," he growled.

"Ow," Gary hissed, grabbing his sides with one hand while his other kept a tight grip on his phone. He shot a glare at the other man. "I can see that, Bill."

Gary looked up and smiled at Dark and his company, then he stood up and walked around the counter, pocketing his phone. "Welcome to Bill's Gadgets! How can I help you?"

" _That's a shitty store name_ ," Anti began, incredulous, before Mare clapped a hand on his mouth.

Anti made a muffled yelp of protest, before he went quiet - and Mare tore his hand away, wiping it on his jeans with a noise of disgust.

"DUDE, YOU JUST LICKED MY HAND," Mare complained, inching away from Anti and still wiping down his hand.

Anti only grinned, while Dark resisted the urge to face-palm and strangle him. Mad, meanwhile, had wandered off, examining the gadgets on display, and Mare, inching away from Anti, decided to join him.

Dark then decided that finishing their business here was more important than kicking Anti's butt, so he turned to Gary and plastered a smile on his face. "I'm sorry for my... _friends'_ behavior. They can be a bit...wild."

Bill continued scowling at them, but Gary only laughed. "Nah, it's cool, man. I wasn't the one who thought of it," he added, nodding his head towards Bill. "So, what are you looking for?"

"Four phones, if you please. The cheapest you have."

Gary frowned. "You sure? You're going to miss some cool features if you just settle for the lowest price."

"What features?" Anti asked, before Dark could refuse.

Gary shrugged. "High-def camera and video, lightning-fast Wi-Fi, extra memory, excellent processor for games -"

Anti's eyes widened at the last part, and he turned to Dark. "Darkie -"

Dark looked up, counted to ten, and sighed. "Fine, we'll check out phones with these...extra features."

" _What are those two doing back there?_ " Bill announced, making everyone else in the store jump.

When Dark turned, however, Mad and Mare had ran out of the store - before alarms blared around them.

"What the shit," Dark muttered, before Anti grabbed his arm and pulled him running out of the store.

While they tried to catch up to Mare and Mad, Bill's voice rang out, " _COME BACK HERE YOU SNATCHING SCUMBAGS!_ "

Then bullets rang out behind them. One flew past Dark's ear.

Anti chanced a look back, then sped up. "Fuck, he's got a shotgun!"

" _Why is this happening?!_ " Dark yelled.

They eventually lost Bill when Dark and Anti followed Mare and Mad down a turn into an alley, and ran left and right past some buildings. When they realized they were no longer followed, the four of them took time to catch their breaths (even though they, theoretically, could outrun Bill for hours).

Mare huffed a laugh. "Well, that was exciting."

Dark took a deep breath, straightened, and bellowed, " _What the FUCK did you do?!_ "

Mare froze, then side-eyed Mad, who glared at him for the throw under the bus.

Mad sighed. "Sorry, Dark, but I had no choice. There was no way we could afford those phones with our current funds."

Dark felt his temper rise. "Then couldn't you have _told us_ beforehand?! You could have let me handle it!"

"Dark, we don't have time! By the time you sweet-talk those people, the men in black could catch us!"

Dark stepped forward, staring Mad in the face. "Yeah? Well, _thanks_ to the stunt you pulled, they'll have an _easier_ time finding us!"

"Okay, okay, _enough!_ " Mare yelled, separating them. "Look, what's done is done, and nobody got caught. Can we just let this go?"

Dark wanted to say no, but someone grabbed his arm. He turned to glare at them, but it was just Anti.

"No use getting pissed at Mad, Darkie," Anti said. "He just did what he thought was necessary."

Great, even _Anti_ was telling him to calm down. Dark closed his eyes, pinched his nose, and took several breaths. They were right, anyway. They all had points. The problem was, he didn't like losing control of a simple situation like this.

"We'll talk about this later," Dark declared, staring at Mad, who nodded in reply. "But for now, let's just get the other stuff."

Anti dropped his hold on Dark, but turned and glared at Mad, holding out a hand. "Maddie-boy, the phones?"

Mad opened his duffel bag, and pulled out one smartphone, slapping it into Anti's hand. He pulled two more smartphones and passed them to Mare and Dark. "They're not activated yet, so we should find a way to...activate them."

Mare narrowed his eyes. "We're not robbing another store, are we?"

Mad shrugged. "Hopefully not."

This morning made Dark wish he bought alcohol and never got up from bed.

* * *

 **a/n:** past me: let's write a fic full of crack jokes and fun times.

present me: let's write a fic that switches wildly between comedy and suspense, because why not.

because i didn't update for the past few days, you all get a double update.


	14. what kind of person are you?

**summary:** they all know AntiSepticEye is both calculating and unpredictable. they don't know enough.

* * *

It turned out Anti and company didn't have to rob another store to turn on their fancy smartphones: they found a tiny mini-grocery three blocks away from where they emerged from the alley.

The floor tiles and shelves were slightly grimy, and the mini-grocery smelled of something damp, but it was brightly-lit and manned by one bored-looking teenage goth girl who only gave them a glance before turning her attention back to a gossip magazine.

Mare looked over the glass display of muffins, doughnuts, and sandwiches on the counter. "Boy, all this excitement has made hungry."

Right. Anti had already grabbed a coffee and a doughnut from the coffeehouse, but the others were so busy scrambling around, they forgot to get breakfast. "You guys should buy something to eat before you all fall over."

Dark side-eyed Mad. "Yes, _buy_ something."

Mad rolled his eyes. "I can _hear_ you, Dark."

Anti sighed. Being elder demons with human emotions, worsened by their intense natures, was quickly becoming a _bitch_.

Personally, Anti couldn't care less about how they got the phones. It was actually kind of fun, running away from the old man from the tech store; he wanted to yell back, "SCREW YOU, BILLY!" but he decided, back then, that he didn't want to get shot, _again_.

But he understood why Dark was pissed. It was something that came up during their argument back at the pit stop motel: he and Dark were both proud control freaks (and so were Mare and Mad, though they didn't show it as much). They each had their talents, and they didn't like those talents getting pushed aside. Dark was good at diplomacy, Anti at combat; obviously Mare beat them all at music, and Mad at science. Back at the tech store, Dark could've turned the odds to their favor with a few choice words.

Mad had a point, though. Hell, he _always_ had a good point, what the fuck was Anti saying? They had limited time, money, and places to hide. If they didn't get their asses into gear, they could just kiss their hard-earned freedom goodbye.

So Anti sighed, and though he loved chaos in general, decided he didn't want the two most responsible people in their group to be in a fight. He declared, "Dark, you're angry 'cause Mad blew off your authority, when you _never_ had any -"

Dark opened his mouth, but Anti held up a hand to indicate he wasn't done. "- but Mad, what you pulled _was_ a dick move, anyway, 'cause you just sprung it on us, so can you two morons sit down over there -"

Anti waved a hand to a nearby plastic table with four chairs, continuing, "- and talk this out? Your passive-aggressive war is getting on my nerves."

Anti could feel Mare staring at him, so he turned and snapped, "What?"

"Dude, are you angry," Mare began, " _because_ they're angry at each other?"

"Is that a problem?" Anti asked.

Mare blew out a breath and chuckled. "No. I'm just glad I'm not the only one. I'm just too hungry to say anything." He looked back at the food display.

"Then get _something_ , idiot." Anti turned back to Dark and Mad, who stared at him like he grew two heads. "Well?"

Mad held up his hands. "Okay, I'm sitting down. Just get me a Diet Coke, if they have it." He turned and made his way towards the table.

Anti turned and raised an eyebrow at Dark, who shrugged. "You made it sound like we're children." He left before Anti could reply, and followed Mad.

"You think they're going to be okay?" Mare asked.

Anti nodded. "If Dark and I haven't killed each other by now, and we haven't killed _you_ , then they'll be fine."

Anti didn't have to turn to know Mare was giving him a look. "Sure, if you say so," Mare said. "I'll grab food for them, anyway. You want anything?"

Anti shook his head, but a row of colorful prepaid SIM card packets caught his eye. "We need those for our phones, right?"

Mare glanced over at what Anti was staring at. "Oh, yeah, we do. I'll get them too, they don't look like they cost much."

The goth girl behind the counter raised an eyebrow when Anti and Mare asked her how to activate their phones, but she showed them anyway, and even explained how to use some of the apps, all in a flat, bored tone.

By the time Anti and Mare got to the table - Mare with a tray of three different sandwiches and soft drink cans, Anti with the SIM card packets - it seemed like Dark and Mad were no longer angry with each other. Or at least, they weren't glaring across the table at each other with too much murderous intent.

While Mare set down the tray on the table and sat next to Mad, Anti tossed the packets on the table and slid on the seat next to Dark. "Use those for your phones," Anti explained.

After some lengthy explanations between looking for and downloading phone videogames and heavy-metal rock music, Anti exchanged numbers with the other three, who finished their breakfast. They then collectively decided that it was time to get the other things they needed before finding a car.

So they asked for directions to a local mini-mall from the mini-grocery's goth girl. The mini-mall was quite far, but they could manage it, as long as they sticked to the hidden shortcuts the goth girl indicated.

Now they stood inside the mini-mall, an off-white structure three stories high and five blocks wide, with some walls replaced by glass and showcasing various merchandise. Large, brightly-lit letters adorned the top of the walls, advertising the names of the stores. When they entered, they were greeted by a blast of cold, clean-scented air, compared to the humid outside. They weren't that many people to crowd the mini-mall, but it was still quite noisy, with salespeople calling out customers and selling their wares.

Anti squinted at all the lights and colors. "Damn, it's so bright here."

Dark eyed the nearest glass display with barely-concealed disgust. "Why do those exist?" he whispered, mostly to himself.

They all turned at what he was looking at: a row of mannequins wearing various suits and dresses. "Why, do those suits offend you or something?" Mare asked.

Dark shook his head. "No, the suits are fine. It's just... never mind." He seemed to shudder, but maybe that was just Anti's imagination.

Mad pulled out his phone. "Signal's weak, but we can manage. If anybody gets lost, we can meet up again at the entrance."

Mare looked around the mini-mall. "I don't think we can get lost _that_ easily in here."

Anti opened his mouth to point out all the ways they _could_ get lost - but left it hanging open when his eye caught sight of a stall selling various jars of candies, and, _oh_ , yes -

" _COOKIES!_ " he screamed, and with a flash-step he instantly stood in front of the stall, face to face with its display of sweet confectioneries. He distantly registered Dark yelling something, and the stall's saleswoman yelping off to the side, but he ignored them in favor of grabbing a jar of classic chocolate chip cookies, and tucking it close to his chest.

"U-uhm, s-sir," the saleswoman was saying, "that would be three dollars -"

"I'll take it," Anti interrupted, holding the jar up and pressing his nose close to the glass. He could see every delicious-looking crumb of the cookies. He could almost _taste_ them in his mouth -

" _No_ ," Dark's voice intoned, interrupting Anti's cookie heaven. "No no no no no no. We are _not_ buying that."

NOPE, NOT HAPPENING. Anti turned and glared at Dark, who had caught up with him and glared back.

"Guys, we're just going to go ahead," Anti heard Mad announce from somewhere behind Dark. "We'll be at a clothing store."

Dark then rolled his eyes, and reached out a hand. "Anti, get a hold of yourself, it's just -"

NO, NOBODY CAN TAKE ANTI'S COOKIES AWAY FROM HIM. "Buy these cookies, or I'm killing everyone here," Anti growled, keeping a tight grip on the cookie jar.

Dark huffed. "You're bluffing."

Anti didn't blink. "I'm not."

The saleswoman gulped next to them, but Dark only looked up at the ceiling and groaned. "Anti, we don't have the money for that!"

"It's only three dollars!" Anti reasoned.

Dark began clenching his hands in front of himself. "You're acting _like a child!_ "

Anti then decided enough was enough. "I'm walking out of here with these cookies, one way or another. You can try to stop me, but you will fail."

"UGH, WHY AM I STUCK WITH YOU?" Dark screamed, pulling on his hair. "YOU'RE FUCKING _UNREASONABLE!_ "

Anti shrugged. "Because Mare, Mad, and I are the only friends you have?"

They both fell silent at this statement, Dark looking as shocked as Anti felt.

Shit, what the _hell_ did Anti say? _Friends?_ No, friends were weaknesses, people who made you need them, until they left you behind. And Anti didn't need friends; Dark certainly wasn't his friend. Nope, they were just using each other for convenience, just as they were using and being used by Mare and Mad. Once the four of them reached a city large enough to influence, they will all inevitably turn on each other.

 _No, that's not true_ , a voice in his head said, a voice that sounded like Sean. _It goes both ways. They're the only ones we have._

WHAT THE FUCK.

Anti grabbed his head, shaking away the voice, but realized that he had let go of the cookie jar. Too confused to move, he watched it fall to the floor -

\- and into Dark's open hands. Dark straightened up, cradling the cookie jar, an unreadable frown on his face.

"I'm sorry," Anti whispered, so quiet he could barely hear himself. But he didn't know what exactly he was apologizing for.

Dark did his habitual head-tilt again. "You're not okay." It wasn't a question.

"I'm sorry," Anti repeated, before he could stop himself. He felt as if he had lost control of his body, and it was moving on its own.

Dark looked at him for a moment, then sighed. "I suppose cookies can't hurt." He turned to the saleswoman, who had gone pale. "We'll take this, please."

"O-okay," the saleswoman, and she moved behind the stall to type at the cash register.

Dark handed back the cookie jar to Anti, who took his hands off his head to gently hold it.

"I suppose we _are_ all children," Dark mused. "We are newborns to this human existence. Nothing from our world could have prepared us for... _this_."

Did Dark know? Did he also experience the echoes of his host? The ghostly voice, snatches of memories in his mind's eye, a burning emotion in history chest that he couldn't explain?

The confusion must have showed on Anti's face, because Dark glanced at him and gave a small, almost comforting smile. "We can talk about this later, but for now, let's find a map."

Anti only nodded, tucking the jar under his chin again.

* * *

 **a/n:** i apologize for taking an early hiatus; no, i have not abandoned this fic. i just had to deal with fixing plot holes, handling academic requirements, getting flu-like symptoms, and meeting up with some old friends.

speaking of which, raise your hand if you felt personally victimized by Mark and Jack for the past week.

also, i'm wrong again. i think i need two more chapters before the first act ends. however, soon i'll post an extra chapter from the pov of either Natemare or MadPat.


	15. this is not a shopping simulator

**summary:** crime does not pay... unless you're an eldritch demon strapped for cash.

* * *

After Dark paid for the cookie jar and Anti managed to calm down by nibbling on some cookies, they asked the cookie-stall cashier on where to buy a map. Her directions led them quite far into the mini-mall, to a quiet, softly-lit bookstore with rows of bookshelves and some beanbags scattered around the corners.

The bookstore was quite large, so it took some time before they found the display stand of maps in the farthest corner of the store. "What should we get?" Dark mused, examining the various maps.

"Pick anything," Anti mumbled behind him, like he was chewing on something. "They're all the same anyway."

Dark turned, and saw Anti had snuck out another cookie from the jar he never let go, and stuffed it into his mouth. "Are you trying to get us kicked out?!" Dark exclaimed. "You're not allowed to eat in here!"

Anti finished chewing, swallowed, and replied, "It's my comfort food! Besides, nobody else can see us here!"

Dark rolled his eyes. Sometimes he wondered why he put up with these miscreants. Anti was devil-may-care, Mad was a sociopath, and Mare only did things when he felt like it.

 _Because what he said was true. They're all you have left._

Shut up, Mark.

At least Dark wasn't alone in hearing voices: he was positive now that Anti experienced the same things he did. He suspected when Anti reacted strongly to the concert, but the unusual failure of his reflexes when the cookie jar fell confirmed his suspicions.

He didn't know whether Mad and Mare shared the same dilemma, however. Mad seemed to act strangely back in the van with the old women, but otherwise he was the sane infuriatingly know-it-all smartass. Mare was still the same, but they only had him back for half a day.

Anyway, Dark had other matters on his mind right now, like their map, and Anti's cookie addiction.

"Okay, fine, I'll just grab something," Dark muttered, taking a random map from the display stand. "Hopefully Mad doesn't have problems with it." He shot a glare at Anti. "And _stop eating._ "

They lined up at the sole register in the bookstore to pay for the map, though Dark had to gulp during their turn, when the cashier eyed the loosely-closed cookie jar in Anti's arms, and then the cookie crumbs on Anti's shirt. (Anti, the fucker, just whistled and looked away.)

"You know," Anti began, when they left the bookstore, "I think I know why you're grumpy."

Dark scoffed. "There are many reasons why I'm bitter, but sure, let's hear your guess."

Anti opened the cookie jar and picked out a cookie. He held it out in front of Dark's mouth. "You need a cookie."

Dark leaned away. "No."

"Aww." Anti didn't really sound sorry, however, and took a big bite out of the cookie. "Your loss."

"I prefer Cheez-Its, anyway," Dark said. A small part of him reminded him that as elder gods, they had no preference with food, but a bigger part of him simply screamed CHEEZ-ITS.

Anti shrugged. "Fine, let's go find some Cheez-Its."

"We neither have the time, nor the money for that," Dark explained. However, the smartphone in his pocket began ringing. "Wait, hold that thought."

"Your ringtone is boring," Anti commented.

"Nobody asked you," Dark replied, pulling out the phone. Mad was calling him.

"How do I...?"

Anti rolled his eyes. "Press the green button."

"Oh." He put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Dark, is this you?" Mad's voice replied.

"Speaking."

"Oh, good. Listen, Mare and I had been talking about things, and, well...anyway, let's meet up at the department store here."

"What? Why?"

"You'll see. Just go there, bye."

"Wait -"

The line clicked, then went dead. Dark pulled the phone away from his ear, stared at it, then looked at Anti and said, "I just forgave him this morning, and now he's back to pulling shit like this."

"Hey, at least he gave you a warning this time," Anti pointed out.

"That doesn't make me feel any better," Dark replied, scowling.

Anti nudged his head towards at the bookstore. "Ask for directions?"

In reply, he pulled Anti away from the bookstore. "We're not going back in there."

Instead, they asked a random passerby for directions to the department store, though they had to go through five people for proper instructions. When they got there, a brightly-lit store bigger than the others, with glass walls displaying the various shelves and stands inside, Mad and Mare stood by the entrance. Mare had a backpack slung over his shoulder, while Mad seemed to have gained another duffel bag that lied on the floor.

"What _happened_ ," Dark demanded when he and Anti approached, already suspicious of the two of them.

Mare held up the hand not holding onto the backpack straps. "Relax, Mad and I just came up with a brilliant plan."

Mad huffed. "Actually, ninety-nine percent of it was _my_ idea."

Mare frowned. "Hey! I put the _spark_ of an idea in your head in the first place!"

" _Hence_ , the remaining one percent," Mad finished, grinning.

"Enough," Dark snapped, before the argument could escalate. "What is this 'plan' you're talking about?"

Mad hefted up the duffel bag from the floor onto one hip, and unzipped it open with one hand, showing through the small gap that it was filled with money.

Dark's only reply was, "What the fuck."

" _Did you just rob a bank?_ " Anti screeched next to Dark, nearly dropping the cookie jar again.

" _Shh!_ " Dark hushed him, clapping a hand over Anti's mouth. Thankfully, Anti was too still shocked to even think of licking Dark's hand.

" _No!_ " Mare and Mad said together.

"I just reminded Mad that he could make stuff out of other stuff," Mare explained.

"So I took some cloth and transformed them to look like dollar bills," Mad finished.

Dark dropped his hold on Anti, and turned to them. Mad had the most versatile ability of the four of them, yet he only chose to use it now? Something wasn't adding up. "Couldn't you have -"

"Reasons," Mad interrupted, zipping the duffel bag closed again.

Dark raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" He didn't even finish the question!

Mare looked apologetic. "I'll tell you later."

Anti interjected before Dark could affirm. "So instead of robbery, we're now counterfeiting money," Anti said.

Mare shrugged. "Since we've already committed mass murder, arson, physical assault, destruction of public and private property, trespassing, and scandal, I think forgery is the _least_ of our crimes."

Dark hated to admit it, but that made sense. "Alright then, but what _exactly_ do we plan to do with all this money?"

Mad jabbed a thumb at the department store. "We're stocking up on supplies. If we're making it to a city, we need more than just a map and some phones. Unless you want to keep sleeping in terrible motels."

"Yeah, but we don't have enough bags _or_ pockets for that," Dark pointed out, "even if we used our powers to warp the space inside them."

"Which is why we need to split up. Again," Mare countered. "Dark can go with me to get a car, since I need to show him where to find one. Mad can take Anti to buy what we need."

"Hey," Anti piped up. "I never volunteered for this."

Mad scowled. "You don't need to. You're the only one who can do heavy lifting out of all of us. And I don't think you can do anything helpful with the car."

"I can drive it!" Anti replied.

"So can I," Dark pointed out. While he didn't like Mad and Mare taking charge, he had to acknowledge that they had good ideas this time. "Mad is right, you're better off with him."

Anti mocked-gasped. "Oh my gosh, Dark admitted that someone else was smarter than him!"

"I never said that -"

Anti ignored him, and rested a hand on his forehead. "Am I dreaming?" Then he placed the same hand on Dark's shoulder. "Who the hell are you, and what did you do to Dark?"

Dark impatiently brushed away his hand. "Knock it off." He could hear Mad and Mare snickering in the background.

Anti frowned. "Geez, you really need those Cheez-Its."

"Cheez-Its?" Mare repeated.

Dark shrugged. "It's nothing, just food."

"Speaking of which," Mad began, "does anybody have any special requests for us to buy?"

Anti held up the cookie jar. "More cookies, please?"

Mad stared at Anti for a moment, before looking at Dark and Mare. "Any _other_ special requests?"

"Candy, but you already knew that," Mare replied.

Well, Anti already ratted him out, so Dark said, "Cheez-Its."

Mad nodded. "Duly noted. Come on, Anti." He grabbed Anti by the arm ("Fine, but we're buying cake, right?" "I make no promises."), and dragged him into the department store.

Mare looked at Dark. "Guess it's just you and me now, huh?" Mare said.

Dark cocked his head. "I suppose so. What were you going to tell me about Mad?"

"I already asked him the same questions you were going to," Mare explained, "but he keeps dodging them. I don't think he wants to talk about it."

They began walking towards the exit of the mini-mall. "Do you think he's hiding something?"

Mare shrugged. "I don't know. I already pushed him enough."

Dark hummed, putting the information away for later analysis. He and Mare walked the rest of the way side by side in silence, until they exited back into the humid outside air.

And found a man and a woman in business suits blocking their way.

"Hello, my name is Agent Billings," the woman greeted, and she gestured to the man, "and this is Agent Lennox. We're from the FBI. May we ask you a few questions?"

* * *

 **a/n:** welp, the important OCs showed up earlier than expected.

just one more regular chapter, then i'll post the special pov chapter.

thanks for sticking with this nonsense so far.


	16. stomp out this disaster town

**summary:** fight for your freedom, or die trying.

* * *

Shopping with Mad turned out to be not so bad: Mad wasn't as grumpy as Dark was, and he eventually caved into buying cookies ("You already finished off your jar, might as well buy more cookies to keep you sane.")

Anti's job was to push the shopping cart, which he enjoyed, while he trailed after Mad, but sometimes he would argue with Mad about what to buy and pick out better options.

They had just finished stocking up on snacks (more cookies, candies, snack bars, Cheez-Its, soft drinks, coffee, and for some reason, tea), and arguing over whether to get flavored milk, when Mad's smartphone pinged.

"It's from Mare," Mad announced when he pulled out his phone. "I hope it's...," and he frowned while he read the text message, "...good news."

Anti didn't like that pause. "What's up?"

Mad looked worried when he glanced up. "They ran into the FBI outside the mall."

Anti tightened his grip on the shopping cart. That did _not_ sound good. "Should we bail?"

Mad's phone pinged again, and he scrolled down to read the new message. "They say they managed to handle it, whatever that means. I guess we continue on."

Anti shrugged. "If they say so."

So they continued picking up stuff, and checking off Mad's long list of "essentials." By the time they lined up to pay, they had _two_ shopping carts piled with food, toiletries, and a shit-ton of what Mad called "camping equipment."

Anti stood in front of Mad in the six-people line. He took a long look down at the shopping cart he'd been pushing, then turned and glanced at Mad's shopping cart. "Do we _really_ need all these?"

Mad, leaning over his shopping cart's handles, raised an eyebrow. " _Now_ you're asking?"

Anti leaned back against his shopping cart, taking care not to push it back too much, and waved a hand at the "camping equipment." "I mean, we don't even know how to use half of these?"

"Anti." Mad stared him in the eyes. "Motels. Hunters. Ring a bell?"

 _Touché_. Anti huffed. "Okay, but if you get set on fire again, don't say anything."

"Sure, I'll just haunt you from beyond the grave."

At first they laughed at this joke, except at some point a hint of awkwardness entered the situation, and their chuckles died down.

"NEXT!" the cashier announced, and the line moved forward.

"Anti," Mad asked, "do you ever remember things from your host's life?"

Anti took a breath. Great. First, Dark, now, Mad. He wished he could be shot rather than have this conversation.

Well, he could lie, but Mad might ask Dark instead, who already suspected things, and then together they'd kick Anti's ass for lying.

So Anti turned around again, looked at Mad, and reluctantly, told the truth. "...sometimes."

Mad nodded, accepting the answer. "Do you remember who were your host's loved ones?"

Huh. That wasn't what Anti expected Mad to ask. He thought Mad would go on a rant about how their host bodies were also changing their memories or something. Anti frowned, racking through his brain for something to answer with.

A fair-faced woman, with fluffy wavy hair and a wonderful smile, appeared in his mind. Her name was...

" _Signe_ ," Anti said, surprised at his own melancholy tone. "Sean had a girlfriend named Signe Hansen."

Mad cocked his head, humming. "Don't you ever wonder where she is?"

Anti blinked at this question. Mad was really being _weird_ right now. "Why would I?" he spat bitterly. "She's Sean's lady, not mine. And besides, she'd be dead by now. Or married to someone else."

But even as Anti said that, his heart began to hurt, so much he had to clench a hand in his shirt.

 _I'm so sorry..._

Anti would never say sorry in his existence, so he already knew this was Sean's ghost talking. After all, Anti would never long after a woman at all, when he could have the world.

"Are you okay?" Mad's voice came floating through the pain.

Anti blinked away the sudden tears, released his shirt, and took a deep breath. "Yeah, 'm fine."

Mad opened his mouth to say something, but he got interrupted by two things.

First, the cashier announced, "NEXT!" again, prompting the line to move forward.

Second, Mad's phone began ringing.

The ringtone was enough to fully pull Anti back to reality again. "God, your ringtone's just as terrible as Dark's." He caught the dirty look of the shopper behind them, so he pushed his cart forward.

Mad rolled his eyes, while he pushed his own cart and fished his phone from his pocket. "And you're just as _picky_ as Mare is. Leave my ringtone alone, okay?" He answered the call. "Hel -"

"MAD, YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THERE NOW," Mare's voice yelled at full volume across the line.

Anti and Mad both tensed at Mare's warning, ignoring the stares of the other shoppers. Mad motioned Anti closer to the phone, so that they could both hear the call.

Mad turned his attention back to the phone. "Why? What's going on?"

" THE FBI AND THE INSTITUTE ARE AFTER US." Mare was cut off by what sounded like a gale.

Anti and Mad froze. _Institute?_

"Mare, what are you talking about?" Mad asked, though he seemed to dread the answer.

"IT'S THE FACILITY," Mare yelled back. "THE SOLOMON INSTITUTE IS THE FACILITY."

"Impossible," Anti breathed. They killed everyone at the facility; Mad even made sure nothing of that cursed building remained.

"It can't be them," Mad muttered at the same time. "I checked the database, that was the only active facility -"

"DIFFERENT BRANCH." This time he was cut off by the revving of an engine. " THEY'RE HERE AND THEY'RE NOT HAPPY."

"Wait, are you on a car?" Anti asked.

"YEAH!" Mare shouted. "MEET US OUTSIDE, THEY'RE COMING FOR YOU."

"Wait, who's 'they'?" Mad asked.

The line clicked dead.

 _Shitshitshitshitshit._

Anti jumped away, every muscle of his body twitching. "They're the ones sweeping the town. They're heading here next."

Mad only stared at him. "They could be surrounding this place right now."

"I know," Anti replied. "Which is why we need an escape plan."

"But we haven't paid for the groceries yet."

Anti looked around at the other shoppers and the cashier, who stared back at them like they were weird (which they were, but that was uncalled for). Yikes, they probably overheard Mare's phone call. "I think it's too late for that."

He stretched out a hand, and with a thought, he summoned a large carving knife. "Here's how it goes down," he announced. "Let us through, and nobody dies."

" _Anti!_ " Mad exclaimed in alarm.

The shoppers only stared back, not moving at all, but Anti noticed the cashier reaching for something beneath the counter. With one flash-step he teleported to her side, grabbed her wrist, and pressed his knife delicately against her throat. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you."

All of the surrounding shoppers (except for Mad, who merely face-palmed) now screamed and fled. The cashier, a twenty-something brunette, yelped and turned pale, trembling in his hold. "P-Please don't h-hurt me, I w-was just doing m-my job, I s-swear."

"I know," Anti replied, showing off a vicious smile. He didn't need to kill her. (Something about her reminded him of...something precious that he'd forgotten.)

A hefty stack of bills thudded on the countertop, courtesy of one annoyed-looking Mad. "It's nothing personal," he said to the cashier, sparing her an apologetic smile. "We just need these. Please accept this as compensation."

The cashier's mouth trembled, but she nodded.

Mad then turned to Anti, frowning again. "Was violence really necessary?"

"Do we really need to pay for our crap?" Anti shot back. He gestured to the bills, then to the almost-empty department store. "Would you rather wait in line, until those lab-coats take us away?"

"Well -"

Mad got cut off by the arrival of the department store security guards, who encircled the counter and had their guns drawn. By Anti's estimate, there were about ten guards surrounding them.

"Freeze!" One of them yelled, aiming at Anti. "Put the weapon down, and let go of the hostage!"

Anti only stared them down, but Mad slowly raised his arms behind his head, and turned around.

"Mad, _what are you doing?_ " Anti gritted out, keeping a tight grip on the whimpering cashier while taking care not to cut her neck.

"I got a plan," Mad whispered, and he kneeled down until only his head was visible behind the counter.

Anti heard a bubbling noise, and the guards' yelps of alarm, before Mad sank into the floor and disappeared from sight.

" _What the fuck, where did he go?_ " a guard screamed.

This was Anti's chance. He dismissed his knife, let go of the cashier, and pushed her to the floor. Then he teleported away from the counter and clotheslined the first guard he reached.

Before that guard hit the ground, Anti teleported away and roundhouse-kicked the next guard. Another guard turned to shoot at Anti, but Anti teleported again, pulling the guard's shooting arm forward, and elbowed him in the nose.

The other guards began shooting at Anti, so he rapidly teleported from behind one of them to another. The guards held their fire, afraid of hitting each other, long enough for black pools of ink to begin growing beneath their feet.

The guards tried to step away from the ink pools, but they only sank further down the more they struggled, like they were in quicksand. Anti took advantage of their confusion to sucker-punch one guard, kick another in the ribs, until all the guards were unconscious and buried into the cement floor up to their chins.

The ink pools on the floor shrunk, except for one, from which Mad emerged, rising up until he stood straight and stepped away. Mad waved his hand, and the remnants of the ink pools vanished.

Anti grinned. That team-up was _awesome_. "Haven't seen you pull that trick in a while."

"I didn't think it would work."

"Why not?"

Mad didn't answer, but glanced at the guards in the floor, then turned back to Anti. "You didn't kill them."

Anti shrugged. "Neither did you."

"We don't need the extra attention," Mad explained, like he even needed to. He looked at their shopping carts. "Can you teleport our stuff out?"

"Sure, but where would we go?" Anti asked.

"Back to the entrance." Mad held a finger up. "But _not_ the parking lot." He began pulling out his phone. "Give me a moment, I need to call Mare."

"HEY, MAD?" Mare replied when the call connected.

"Mare, where are you now?" Mad asked.

"ALMOST THERE, HAD TO SHAKE THEM OFF." A voice in the background, which Anti assumed to be Dark, said something unintelligible. "YOU?"

"Ran into some trouble, but we're heading out. We'll meet you at the entrance lobby."

"WAIT, WHY -" Mare paused. "OH YEAH, THEY COULD BE THERE OUTSIDE ALREADY. BUT HOW -"

"Figure something out to get past them," Mad shot back. "See you later."

"OKAY," Mare replied, and Mad ended the call.

Anti went and held on tight to their shopping carts. "You'll have to hold on to me if you don't want to get left behind."

But Mad pocketed his phone and shook his head. "You're already exhausted -"

"No, I'm not -" Okay, Anti _was_ , but Mad didn't really need to know how much.

"- you don't need the extra baggage." Mad tapped the floor with his foot, and another ink pool began forming next to him. "Beat you there," he declared, grinning.

Anti scoffed. "Like hell you will."

Anti imagined the lobby in his mind, and felt the aura of that place pull him in. He took a deep breath, and with one blink, he jumped.

A hundred colors, unnamed, and a thousand sounds, no human ear could hear, flew past him while he teleported. Anti usually traveled over short distances fast enough not to see or hear these things, but when he didn't, he knew not to be alarmed by these sensations.

By the time he landed on his feet on the lobby, only a few milliseconds have passed, and he managed not to lose any of their groceries in the shopping carts en-route, though the carts did rattle when they landed.

Anti looked out the glass walls of the entrance lobby, past the parking lot, just in time to see a black portal appear in the middle of the driveway. He could only stare while a black car emerged from the portal, bounced off the ground, and roared towards the glass doors.

" _OH SHIT._ "

Anti grabbed the carts again and teleported away to the side, just as the black car CRASHED into the glass, shattering it into a million tiny pieces on the floor. The black car skidded sideways across the floor, before screeching to a stop in the middle of the lobby.

Anti shook off the glass that had settled on his hair and clothes, looking up to see the car's front doors open. He let go of the carts and twitched his fingers, summoning another knife in his hand and holding it to his side, while he carefully approached the car.

The first person he saw was Mare, who slid out of the car, only to bend over while holding his knees and taking deep breaths.

"Mare!" Anti's joy was quickly replaced by irritation, when he remembered what happened. "What the hell, man? _You nearly killed me!_ "

"Don't...blame...me," Mare replied between breaths. He took a big breath, and jerked a thumb behind him. "I thought _he_ was trying to kill _us_."

"It was the fastest way inside," a deep voice all too familiar to Anti boomed. "Unless you want me to be polite, and take the time to park."

Dark had emerged from the other side of the car and walked around, taking time to pat a hand on Mare's back ("Yeah, still alive."), before looking at Anti, gazing over the shopping carts, gazing around, and then looking back at Anti.

"Where's Mad?" Dark asked.

Mad's ink pool chose that moment to appear in the middle of the entrance lobby, before Mad emerged and stepped out. An awkward silence followed, while Mad took one good look at the glass on the floor, the car in the middle of the lobby, the wide gap leading outside, and the three other guys frozen from his judgmental gaze.

Mad opened his mouth, but then closed it, shook his head, and walked over to the shopping carts.

"Yay," Mare mock-cheered, straightening up, "we made Mad speechless."

Dark huffed, unapologetic. "He told us to find a way past our pursuers. So I did."

Anti stared at the trunk of the car. "I don't think we can fit all our stuff in there."

"We can," Mad said, pulling the shopping carts closer to the car trunk. "Also, your knife's out."

"Oh, right." Anti waved his knife away, while Dark and Mare approached the shopping carts.

"Why do we have this much stuff?" Mare asked, looking over the cart full of "camping equipment."

"Because motels suck," Anti replied. Actually, he only said it before Mad brought up the hunter fiasco again.

Mare nodded sagely. "That's true."

"Please tell me you didn't use actual money to pay for this," Dark said, opening up the trunk.

"Relax," Mad reassured him, "I left the counterfeit money on the counter."

"Wait, so the money you bothered to leave were the _fakes?_ " Anti asked, incredulous.

Mad only looked at Anti like he was a slow child. "Of course." Mad then examined the inside of the trunk. "Guys, can we use a bit of our powers to expand the trunk?"

Oh, smart move. The four of them placed their hands on the inside of the trunk, and with a mental push, covered the trunk with the aura of their homeworld.

"That should do," Mad announced, when the trunk felt sufficiently spacious.

That was when they all heard the car engine in the distance.

"We have to leave," Dark declared, looking out the gap the car left, towards the driveway.

"No shit," Anti replied. Together, they began piling the groceries into the car trunk fast.

Mad slammed the trunk door shut when they finished. " _Go, go, go!_ "

"I call shotgun!" Anti called out, pulling the front passenger seat open.

Dark stopped at the driver's side, and glared at Anti across the car roof. "No."

"Can we discuss this later?!" Mare yelled. "We're kind of on a tight schedule here!"

"I'm not driving next to him -" Dark began.

Anti twitched in place. "Shotgun is sacred, you have to respect that -"

" _GUYS!_ " Mare and Mad yelled together.

Dark rolled his eyes. "Ugh, fine." He shot a look at Anti. "You better behave."

Anti only grinned in satisfaction. "Sure."

When they finally climbed into their seats, Dark started up the car and drove through the gap towards the driveway - where a sleek black car had drove up and blocked their way.

"That's the FBI," Mare muttered from the backseat. "How did they find us?"

" _Dark, gun it!_ " Anti yelled, gripping the dashboard.

Dark tossed his head back to shake away his bangs, and took a breath. "I said, _behave_."

Dark revved up the engine, and their car flew out of the gap, just as a fair-skinned, dark-haired, strongly-built man in a black suit came out of the FBI car's driver's seat.

Dark swerved right, narrowly avoiding the FBI car and passing the man by. For a moment, Anti saw a flash of pale-grey eyes he'd seen before.

Then their car was roaring down the driveway, out of the parking lot and into the main road.

"That was Agent Lennox," Mare said, looking out the back window.

"Does it matter?" Mad asked. "Whoever he is, we can't let him catch us."

Mare then gripped the edge of the backseat couch. "Shit, he's following us!"

Dark took a sharp right, diving into a narrow sidestreet. Anti turned in his seat, and saw that the FBI car didn't follow them, but continued onto the main road.

"Careful," Mad admonished. "He might be looking for a way around."

They continued following the sidestreet, until it ended in another main road, where an envoy of black vans were coming from the opposite direction.

Mare muttered, "Fuck."

A loud car horn came from the first van, followed by a booming voice from a megaphone: "*STOP THAT CAR!*"

"It's the Solomon Institute." Dark gritted his teeth. "Anti, now would be a good time for you to teleport."

Anti looked at the dashboard. It made sense, since his teleportation was faster than the others' modes of travel. But he never travelled with a large moving vehicle before. "I don't know if I can -"

" _Just do it!_ " Dark snapped.

Well, fuck it; it was better to try, Anti supposed. He took a deep breath, then placed his hands on the car seat and the passenger door, and concentrated.

Colors sang, and sounds flashed like a rainbow. He was flying.

Then everything went black.

 _Anti? Anti! No, we can't die like this here. You have to stay strong. We need to find the truth._

* * *

 **a/n:** sorry for the cliffhanger, but this chapter was already two days late, and getting crazy long.

also, i realized i screwed up the chapter order. so you're getting TWO special chapters: one from Natemare's POV, and one from MadPat's.

however, i will have to post them next week, as i'll be busy with academic stuff, and they're being difficult to write.

but, since this chapter marks the end of the first act (kinda like the Season One Finale), i'm marking this work temporarily as complete, until i start working on the second act.

see ya next time.


	17. (interlude 1) the high cost of living

**summary:** being a human being was harder than they all thought it would be. do you remember who you are?

* * *

As soon as Anti screamed and teleported off to grab a cookie jar from a stall, Mad sensed a catastrophe in the making, and wisely pulled Mare away. They ducked into a nearby brightly-lit clothing boutique with soft pop music playing in the background, which held a sale of various percentages on almost all its wares.

Fine, they left Dark to deal with a wild Anti, which was doomed to fail (Anti could be stubborn when he focused on something), but Mad had faith in Dark's conversation skills (and Anti got along better with Dark, anyway).

So while Mare tried to select from a display of black T-shirts with various logos, Mad sat down on a nearby bench, opened up the Internet browser on his smartphone, and began researching on roadtrips.

Well, that was his initial intention. But then he had a flash of a memory, a roadtrip he had gone on before, and before he could reconsider, he typed into the search engine the name, "Matthew Patrick." He opened the first link that the search engine returned.

' _Matthew Robert "Matt" Patrick, also known by screen name MatPat, was an American internet personality, actor, writer, and producer. He was best known as the creator and narrator of the YouTube webseries Game Theory, where he commented on topics such as the logic, scientific accuracy, and lore of various video games and the gaming industry..._ '

The ancient part of him, alien and indifferent to the trivialities of this world, didn't care to know what was in the rest of the article. That part of him, his remaining connection to his homeworld, gently whispered that the only reason a superior being like himself bothered with an insignificant creature like Matthew was because he needed a human body to be able to interact freely with this world.

Their homeworld, while free from the restrictive laws of science of this world, was nothing but darkness and emptiness. He and his brethren came here when human beings summoned them with their thoughts, and they chose to stay out of curiosity. They found, however, that they couldn't appear in this world in their true forms without destroying their surroundings, and they were also banished from this world when nobody thought of them anymore. Thus, they needed human hosts, people who were in the spotlight often, not constantly that it would hamper their movements, but enough that those humans were remembered by other humans, and he and his brethren could remain in this world.

It began innocently: a few nightmares and hallucinations for their chosen hosts, and some malfunctioning recording equipment. They took time to study their chosens, noting their traits and habits so that they could impersonate them once they took over their consciousnesses. But somehow, an organization of people found out about their existence, kidnapped all of their hosts, and staged a cover-up so thorough nobody was able to track that organization down.

That was the facility. Mad still felt his blood boil while remembering how he came across their electronic database, how he read their dry clinical reports on the torture and breaking of his brethren's hosts all in the name of "science" and "human progress."

First, it was to let him and his brethren fully take over, which Mad should be grateful for, but it explained why many of the hosts disappeared from the facility, one after the other. Second, it was to determine the powers of the possessed hosts, and how they interacted with each other and the human world, especially under "stress". This was when he was forced to perform and solve tests for the scientists: first alone, then with other people. Finally, however, it was to test if the hosts could be exorcised or killed, and this was when Mad's blood ran cold while reading the reports. No wonder his remaining brethren dwindled, one by one, until only four remained: Darkiplier, AntiSepticEye, Natemare, and MadPat himself.

The facility scientists were puzzled as to how the four of them endured everything. Mad didn't know about the other three, but he remembered he had to convince Matthew to surrender control of his body, unless he wanted to be trapped and tortured in that wretched prison for an eternity. It was a mercy kill, really, and Matthew accepted. Mad never promised it would be painless, though, so he had to endure some screaming while he tore Matthew's soul apart and attached some of the pieces to his own aura. Thus, Mad was able to keep his current body, with access to all its memories and habits. It was that part of him that craved Diet Coke, geeked over trivia and technology, and worried for his companions.

It was that part, that demanded to read the article to the end and know: What happened to Stephanie and Skip? To his friends, Jason, Ronnie, Dan, Drake, Kenny, and the others? It was the part that dominated, and so Mad continued to scroll down the article.

Stephanie never gave up looking for him. When Matthew left for a meeting one day and never came back, she chose to spearhead the search for him and the other missing people, reaching out to their loved ones left behind and answering calls for any tips. Even when the search died down, and almost everyone forgot who Matthew was, she never stopped chasing leads and looking for answers on his whereabouts.

She never loved another man, but devoted all her time to hoping, praying that someday she could him bring back home: her husband and best friend. She never stopped dreaming that one day he would walk back into their apartment, and they would play videogames together again, like the past fifty years never happened. Stephanie eventually passed away, alone and desperate, still insisting until the very end that her beloved Matthew was out there somewhere. He just had to be found. He just had to be saved.

 _Oh, darling...I'm so sorry. If I had a choice, I would've come home to you._

Did he just think that? _Why_ did that thought appear in his mind?

"What the hell happened back there?"

"Huh?" Mad took a moment to remember where he was, and another to realize that Mare asked him a question. He then noticed that his eyes were wet and sore. Was he _crying?_

"You okay?" Mare asked, frowning.

Mad ducked his head to hide his face. He put down his phone on his lap, and rubbed the tears away with a hand. "It's nothing, I was just reading for too long."

"What were you reading?" Mare asked.

Mad blinked at his smartphone screen, then checked his open tabs in the browser. "How to pack for a roadtrip." He paused, then decided to continue so Mare wouldn't suspect anything was wrong. "If we're traveling on the road by car, we'll have to prepare for a long journey. We need plenty of things, apparently, but we don't have the cash to buy them all, even with your pay from the concert."

"Actually," Mare began, shuffling on his feet, "I was going to ask you about that."

Mad checked that his eyes were completely dry before looking up at Mare. "Oh?"

Mare took a moment to swallow." Remember when the scientists used to make us do tests together?"

Speak of the bloody devils. "As clear as day."

"They know we're aliens, beyond the limitations of time and space, life and death, imagination and reality -"

Strange, Mare wasn't usually this rambly. "Okay, and?"

Mare raised his hands defensively. "I'm just saying, because of them, we also found out we have our own individual powers. For example, Dark can sense and control thoughts and emotions -"

Mare left out that Dark also had access to a personal void, a small copy of their homeworld, from which he created shadows, portals and time loops. But why were they talking about Dark all of the sudden?

"- Anti, if he felt like it, could change his body so that he can bench-press a truck, outrun a panther, or toughen his skin as hard as steel -"

Anti could also teleport to any point of space and time, like he was "glitching" in and out of existence, and he traveled faster than the three others. Mad still couldn't figure out how Dark and Anti were involved in this conversation, however, and he was usually sharper than this.

Mare pointed to himself, "- As for me, I can _literally_ knock people out with my voice, _and_ control electric forces."

Well, Mare also could cast hallucinations through the mist he created, which allowed him to travel undetected as well, but of course he already knew that. So where was Mare going with this recitation of all their powers?

Finally, Mare nodded towards Mad. "Then there's you. If I remember correctly -"

"I can reshape or destroy matter," Mad continued. Specifically, he could shape steel with his bare hands, improve its strength, or reduce it to rust with a touch. He could also travel through an inky-black tar-like substance that he could make appear anywhere, but their methods of transportation appeared to be irrelevant right now.

This was when the past dialogue came together in Mad's brain, and he realized what Mare was going to ask about.

"So." Mare took a deep breath. "Why can't you -"

"Make smartphones out of scratch?" Mad finished.

Mare's eyes widened, before nodding. Damn it, Mad sometimes hated being right; it was a curse, being too smart.

Yup, this wouldn't be a _quiet_ shopping trip. Mad sighed, bowed his head, and pinched his nose. "Mare, you know I can't make something out of nothing. Law of conservation of matter, etcetera."

Mare considered that, then shrugged. "Well, yeah, but -"

"And we don't have time to analyze a smartphone, and look for the proper materials," Mad continued, keeping his eyes on the floor. "Smartphones are more complicated than they look." He was mostly limited by Matthew's knowledge, and his own analytical ability, but it was embarrassing to admit to Mare.

Mare looked contemplative for a moment. "But don't you have that bag from the facility? You didn't find a phone there?"

"If I did, I would've already taken it apart," Mad replied, annoyed. "But no, there was a wallet but no phone. Guess whoever owned that bag took their phone to their death."

"Hoping to get an airlift from hell?" Mare joked.

"Maybe," Mare concluded, shrugging. He looked up at the T-shirt display Mare was examining earlier. "You better hurry up and pick something, we don't have all day." He didn't intend to sound so irritated, but Mare's scrutiny was making him uncomfortable.

"Okay, okay," Mare turned back, and began picking through the T-shirts again.

Mad felt guilty for driving Mare off, but he wasn't in a pleasant mood after reading that article, and he didn't wish to reveal his real reason for not using his powers. It was still a theory he was working on.

Back at the facility, Mad had the full power he had in his homeworld: he could turn lead to gold and back again, and reduce a gun to dust in a minute. He could survive a gunshot in the head, and didn't need food or water for weeks. He never slept in the facility.

But the longer he wandered away from the facility, the more intensely his human body affected him. He got exhausted often, he felt hunger and thirst, and worst of all, he experienced the full spectrum of human emotions. He began to wonder: what if their human-ness was affecting their powers as well?

He tested his hypothesis this morning, when he was the last to enter the tech store; he tried to destroy the burglar alarms, but only managed to rust away the surfaces. Mad didn't want to examine what that meant.

"How about those parts?"

Mare was one of the only three people he trusted, but he really _needed_ to control his curiosity. "What?" Mad asked.

Mare was still facing the T-shirt display, but he wasn't pulling T-shirts out anymore. "You got parts from the facility, right? Can't you use them to make something similar to smartphones?"

The fact that Mare was still pushing this matter meant that A) it really bothered him, or B) he was bored and curious. Mad bet on the latter. "Those parts are meant for many things," Mad replied, "but phones are _not_ one of them."

"Right," Mare commented, like he didn't believe Mad. Which was fair: Mad knew his excuses were shit even before they came out of his mouth.

He then remembered that once, he hand-crafted a brass clock that fell apart after 72 hours. On the other hand, the teleporter and the taser he had cobbled together from the facility junk he found fell apart in a few hours. Granted, the decreasing life expectancy of his creations was possibly a side-effect of his growing humanity, but perhaps...he could throw Mare a bone, to distract him from the newspaper? ( _What the hell was that metaphor?_ )

Anyway, it was worth a shot. "Mare, nothing I make lasts forever," Mad began, cringing from the white lie. "It may hold for a few hours, but it always gets destroyed. It's like this world is rejecting anything I create. Remember the teleporter I used to find Anti and Dark? Or the taser I shot you with? They're all broken now."

Mare grimaced, probably at the memory of the taser. "Can't you just fix them?"

Mad shook his head. "The cycle just repeats itself. Even if I find better parts, or build it more carefully, it _always_ falls apart. Something that takes me a lot of time and effort to make can be destroyed in an instant." He didn't intend to sound so dejected, judging by the worried look on Mare's face, but Mad suddenly felt _sad_ that he could never take the years back and be with Stephanie again.

Wait, what?

Mare then stepped closer, making Mad back away in surprise, but he only nudged Mad aside and took a seat on the bench. "Come on, don't feel too bad about what you can't do," Mare began, patting Mad on the back. "Listen, I'm not angry, just curious about what's up with you. Normally, when there's a problem, you pull something out of your pocket to solve it."

"But this isn't something I can solve," Mad said. And it was true: he couldn't rip out the remnants of Matthew's soul, without risking rejection from this human form, and banishment back into the homeworld.

But why did he want to stay in this world so badly? Being human was so _difficult_. Even day-to-day living was a struggle.

 _Because this is our home. Where else can we go?_

Mad jolted in his seat, causing Mare to stop patting him on the back and lean back, but he ignored Mare. He was now sure that voice wasn't his own, which could only mean one thing: Matthew was alive in MadPat.

"Mad? Mad!"

Mad snapped out of his shock, and turned to a confused and worried Mare. "Are you okay?" Mare asked.

"Just fine," Mad replied immediately. He didn't want Mare to fuss over him too much.

Mare didn't say anything for a moment. Then he sighed, and said, "Okay, if you don't want to talk about it, I get it. Just...if anything's wrong, you can tell me. Or anybody else, though I doubt Dark or Anti will be as nice as me."

Mad managed a shaky smile. He felt terrible for hiding secrets from the others, but unless he was 100% sure of what was happening to him, he didn't want to alarm his companions yet.

Mare grinned and clapped Mad on the shoulder, then stood up and walked towards the T-shirt display again. "I can't decide what to pick. I want them all, but we can't afford that many shirts."

"Just pick the best one," was all Mad offered, after a glance of the T-shirts.

Mare leafed through the T-shirts. "That's the problem. No, the _real_ problem is that money doesn't grow on trees, but -"

Mad stopped listening Mare at that point, while an idea began forming in his head. Smartphones were complicated wires and circuitry, but money was just cloth and fancy patterns, right?

Mad pocketed his smartphone, and pulled out a dollar bill. After examining the bill for a moment, rubbing it between his fingers and looking at the designs from different angles, he stood up from the bench and took a good look around the store.

There was a display of cottony dress shirts on the far wall of the clothing boutique. Two dressing rooms stood next to them, near the cashier's counter.

Mare stopped his rant and gave Mad a look. "Should I even ask?"

"I need the right cloth." Mad grabbed his duffel bag, then walked towards the dress shirts. "A dressing room, and a new bag."

Mare grabbed his own backpack and trailed after Mad. "Wait, what for?"

Mad reached the display, pulled out a cottony dress shirt, and then four more. He turned, handed his duffel bag to Mare, and smiled. "Something awesome."

* * *

 **a/n:** the quote from the article is the first paragraph of MatPat's Wikipedia page, in past tense.

all complaints about this chapter can be directed to the comments below, or to the official Tumblr blog.

as you can guess, next chapter's from Natemare's pov. important ocs will be properly introduced, and a car gets stolen.


	18. (interlude 2) the fast and the furious

**summary:** any action has an equal and opposite reaction. all decisions have consequences. Natemare and Darkiplier find that they can't outrun their pasts forever. do you remember who you are?

* * *

Through the freezing of his limbs and the garbled string of _Shitshitshitshit we're getting arrested I never even got my own solo concert_ running though his brain, Mare took a good look at the FBI agents flashing their badges at him and Dark.

Agent Billings, the dark-skinned woman, then put away her badge and strolled up towards them, long black locks tossed over one shoulder of her crisply-pressed black suit. She stopped a few feet in front of them, putting her hands on her hips and squaring back her shoulders, emphasizing her petite and curvy figure. Then her lips curved into a smirk that didn't quite reach her eyes. She was in all ways beautiful, but Mare felt it was a distant judgment, like looking at a flower and thinking it was pretty like any other person would.

Agent Lennox, on the other hand, hung back and remained a good distance away, looking like a Russian soldier with his large height and build. While he had black hair in a neat crew-cut that announced "military", his own black suit seemed to have a few fraying threads at the seams and tiny scruffs on the cuffs that announced "detective". Then his pale-grey eyes washed over Mare and Dark, boredly assessing them.

Pale-grey eyes Mare had seen before…

"Excuse me," Agent Billings said, and Mare realized she was speaking to _him_. "Are you Nate Smith?"

Fuck, that was the name Mare gave to the concert organizers yesterday. Yes, it was his host's _real name_ – but when Mare was asked, he simply blurted out the first name that came to his mind.

So Mare hesitated, considering what would happen if he answered the question (Would good things happen? Would _bad_ things happen?), but before he could say anything Dark stepped forward and asked, "How is this relevant to your investigation, Agent?"

Agent Billings' ruby-painted lips curved into a frown when she turned to Dark. "I'm sorry, but _who_ are you?"

"Mark Fischbach," Dark replied, amazing Mare with how smooth the lie was. "I'm a friend of Nate Smith, _and_ his publicist."

Mare would have scowled at Dark speaking for him, but he knew that he practically a rock in this situation, and if he were the one doing all the talking, he would tell these FBI agents _everything_.

"Ah." Agent Billings smiled, putting up that plastic façade again. "I didn't mean to be rude, Mr. Fischbach. Your client isn't in trouble, we just have some questions regarding his performance at the concert last night."

Dark gave Mare a look: _Look at what you got us into_ , to which Mare only nodded in reply: _Yes, I'm an idiot, now get us out of here._

But when Dark turned back to Agent Billings, he had the pleasant smile back on his face. "Yes, this _is_ Nate Smith. What seems to be the problem, Agent?"

Agent Billings didn't miss a beat. "Your client performed in the opening act for Origin of Sanity last night, correct?"

Dark nodded. "That is correct."

Agent Billings paused and shifted on her black heels. "How long has Mr. Smith been performing music?"

Dark took a moment to look like he had to think it over. "Ten years, more or less."

"And how long have you known each other?"

"We've been friends since college." Mare was seriously impressed with how cool and calm Dark was while answering Agent Billings' questions.

He didn't know what to make of Agent Billings, though: she was matching Dark word for word like she was a master manipulator herself. A female version of Dark, alluring and false – that was a thought both annoying _and_ terrifying.

Then Mare felt someone stare at him, and remembered that Agent Lennox was still there. Agent Lennox hadn't spoken up since he and Agent Billings arrived, but seemed content with observing everyone else in the area.

Something nagged at the back of Mare's mind, like water that kept slipping through his fingers. It was similar to how Mad's behavior during the tech-store robbery bothered him, until he realized, much later at the clothing boutique, that Mad never used his powers the whole morning. Well, until Mad made those counterfeit dollar bills.

Except, whenever he tried to remember where he saw Agent Lennox's eyes before, Mare felt a chill down a spine and a swimming haze behind his eyes. It was like his own brain was preventing him from remembering, which was usually useful, just not right now.

"Have you heard of Tea Party of the Dead?" Agent Billings suddenly asked, and the band name snapped Mare out of his thoughts.

Okay, so Mare _might_ have lied when he claimed that the original opening act, Tea Party of the Dead, had a "falling out" with the concert organizers. When he lurked around the concert venue the day before to check it out, thanks to his own curiosity, he overheard two female backstage crew members complaining about the band. One of them had been sexually harassed by all four band members and had broken into tears, while the other had to deal with their increasingly crazy demands and was ranting to the high heavens. Really, he did everyone a favor by running the band out of town with a bad hallucination trip. The gig, like he said before, was a bonus.

Unfortunately, Dark didn't know any of that, so he only cocked his head and replied, "I can't say I have."

Mare would've cringed, but again, he was a rock. _Shit_. He would sell his voice and both of his hands just to get out of this situation.

"Were you aware that they were the original opening act for Origin of Sanity," Agent Billings continued, "before your client and some other performers replaced them?"

Mare tried to motion to Dark to say yes, but felt Agent Lennox staring at him again, so he had no choice but to stand there and look innocent.

"No," Dark replied, and Mare died a little inside. He decided to try to keep his sanity and think happy thoughts: guitar, piano, microphone, Cristina…

"Do you or your client have any knowledge of Tea Party's whereabouts for the past twenty-four hours?"

Dark scowled, irritated. "Why would we care about the competition?"

Dark, _no –_

"Because," Agent Billings began, her hazel eyes gleaming, "this morning we found the Tea Party in their trailer van three miles from town. Delirious and screaming about a living mannequin doll with purple markings on its face. Purple markings that happen to look like your client's makeup at the concert last night."

Okay, it's official, they're all dead. All thanks to an idiot who just couldn't help himself and keep his mouth shut. Sorry, Dark, Anti, Mad. At least this time, Mare wasn't running away.

Dark, to his credit, didn't change his confident expression. "That _happens_ to be a coincidence. Do you really believe a group of grown men were scared out of their wits by a _doll?_. And unless you're suggesting my client can waste his valuable time pranking other people, he has nothing to do with their disappearance. Besides, does he look like a mannequin to you?"

"Fear can change people's minds against their will," Agent Lennox spoke up, and he had an unusually soft voice for someone of his size and appearance.

Dark turned and glared at Agent Lennox, but he only went back to crossing his arms and looking around the mini-mall parking lot.

Agent Billings shrugged and turned back to Dark. "The Tea Party disappeared at around 9 AM. Does your client happen to have an alibi during that time?"

"We were with each other, discussing music at our motel," Dark replied, though his lie didn't seem as sure this time. Did that mean he was out of ideas?

But Agent Billings nodded. "I see. That will be all. Thank you for your time, Mr. Fischbach, Mr. Smith." She turned and began walking towards a sleek black car, and after one last look, Agent Lennox followed her.

…they weren't getting arrested.

 _YAY!_

Mare and Dark watched the FBI car leave the parking lot. Mare would've started dancing, but as soon as the car disappeared from sight, Dark whirled on Mare. "What was _that_ all about?"

Mare held his hands up to defend himself from Dark's wrath. "Listen, I'm sorry I didn't tell any of you, okay? I didn't think people cared for those jerks."

" _So you did attack them?!_ " Dark yelled, his voice almost breaking.

Mare would cower if he didn't know Dark couldn't actually hurt him. "I didn't hurt them, I just gave them a little scare!"

Dark opened his mouth to say something, but then he stopped, closed his mouth for a moment, and sighed. "You know what, I don't care anymore. Let's just go get the car."

Mare already felt bad for what Dark had to do for him, but looked back at the mini-mall they just left and remembered their other friends. "Shouldn't we warn Mad and Anti?"

Dark hummed in thought. "I don't think the FBI knows about their existence, but we might as well inform them of what happened."

"Okay." Mare pulled out his phone, and began typing out a message to Mad.

 **Ran into FBI outside mall. Dark handled it. Don't worry.**

When Mare finished sending the message, he looked up at a waiting Dark. "So, where is this car sale of yours?" Dark asked.

Mare scrunched up his face, trying to remember the directions he got from a random town resident. "It's a long way from here, but luckily a bus goes on a route near it. We'll have to walk the rest of the way, though, hope you don't mind."

Dark shrugged. "As long as nothing else stands in our way."

So they walked to the nearest bus stop, where they waited for a few minutes before they caught the right bus. Dark went ahead and took a window seat near the back of the bus, while Mare followed his lead and sat opposite him across the aisle. After a few moments, the bus rumbled on down the main road.

Mare thought of pulling out his phone and some earbuds to listen to some of his newly-downloaded rock songs, but he felt Dark staring at him and turned. "Something wrong?" Mare asked.

Dark blinked, like he didn't expect Mare to notice his creepy staring. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I was just wondering something."

Huh, Dark wasn't often this demure. It made Mare curious. "What's up?"

Dark leaned back on his bench, composing himself, before asking, "How do you plan to conquer the world?"

It was such an out-of-the-blue question, Mare could only respond with, "Uhm, what?"

"When we saw you at the concert," Dark explained, "we thought it was your first step towards controlling humans. But you made it clear you had no such plans. So what do you plan to do once we reach a city?"

To be honest? Mare wasn't really interested in world domination, or however Dark defined it. He just wanted to make music, scare a few people, and hang out with his...

 _Friends. The word you're looking for is 'friends.'_

Yeah, friends, buddies, chums, etcetera. He loved music, and he knew the other three loved music too. The more, the merrier, right?

(Which was why when he arrived in Little Prairie and realized he left the only three friends he had in the world behind in that cursed facility, he shut down and wandered around in loneliness and guilt. Only survival and music gave him purpose again.)

Besides, being a rock star was the closest thing to world domination. Fans would _literally_ kill and die for their idols. Sure, there will be a few critics, but nobody cared about them, anyway. Scary hallucinations were wonderful persuasion tools.

So Mare answered, "Same thing as always. I'll let my music speak for myself."

"Then why didn't you use your powers at that concert?" Dark pressed, sounding impatient.

Mare couldn't help but feel irritated with Dark's rehashing an old problem. He just wanted to perform at the concert and earn some cash on the side; not everything had to be about manipulating humans. "I don't know, why don't you start a cult here in town? It would be easier than an entire city, right?"

"I –" Dark paused, considering this point. "Well, a large metropolis may be less efficient to control, but it is also more effective in terms of influence." Dark raised his hands, seemingly to adjust an imaginary suit, before remembering he only wore a T-shirt. He frowned, but pulled the T-shirt collar instead and continued, "In case that worst comes to worse…a small town would also be easier to wipe out than a city. If the facility had managed to secretly kidnap and eliminate about a hundred people –"

Oh no. No no no no no. Bad Dark. Mare didn't want to think about _that_. He straightened in his seat and glared at Dark. " _Don't_ ," he commanded, echoes of dark things in his voice.

Dark cut off, taken aback by surprise. He then looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, but you have to understand. My powers are more… _intimate_. But yours are far-reaching. You would be much more effective in taking over world than the rest of us."

Mare frowned in confusion. Dark's ego was bigger than the sun, and he was the one who always ranted about world domination. "What, you'd rather I conquer the world ahead of you guys, when you were already pissed at me?"

Dark sighed. "Anti and I already had a discussion about this –"

"You mean, you had a fight," Mare interrupted, rolling his eyes. When it came to these two, things were rarely calm and logical. (Which was why Mare personally preferred hanging out with Mad.)

"It was a deep, meaningful discussion."

"Fight."

"Ugh, you _imbecile_ ," Dark said, huffing, "yes, we had a fight. It resulted in a stalemate, and so we decided we could share the world once we've succeeded in conquering it."

"It doesn't sound like something Anti would agree to," Mare pointed out, frowning. Anti, like the rest of them, was proud, and stubborn to boot.

Dark nodded. "No, he didn't state it outright, but he doesn't exactly have a choice."

Mare suppressed a groan. Even back at the facility, Dark had serious control issues. Often he butted heads with Anti thanks to Anti's impulsive aggression, but otherwise the others went along with Dark's plans due to his natural charisma. Mare himself usually didn't mind, but right now he wished Dark would back off and leave him to his own decisions.

He really didn't want to be the one to throw himself in the line of fire, but just like with Mad, there was nobody else around to do it. So Mare said, "You have to stop making decisions for other people."

Dark raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Just like how Mad made decisions for us?"

Okay, how the hell did _Mad_ enter this conversation? "Wait, are you still angry at Mad? Is this what _this_ is all about? I thought you guys talked this out!"

"We did, but then he decided to forge money –"

"Hey, that was partly _my_ idea, too." Mare didn't understand why Dark was suddenly hostile to Mad, but Mare wasn't going to stand by and let him insult one of their own.

But Dark ignored him. "The fact that he refused to use his powers before now is also worrying as well, isn't it?"

Okay, that was true, but from their conversation in the clothing store, Mare believed Mad had his own reasons for not using his powers. Mad was always the man with a hundred back-up plans, after all; he had to have a good reason for not telling them anything. "Come on, just leave him alone," Mare admonished. "He has a lot on his mind."

But Dark only scowled. "I don't like people hiding secrets from me. And it's not just Mad. Anti, too." His scowl softened to a more concerned expression. "Haven't you noticed anything different with Anti?"

"No," Mare answered without pause, and it was the truth: Anti was the same impulsive jerk they all knew and liked. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "But not everything is about _you_ , Dark. We're not obligated to tell you _everything._ "

This time, Dark actually _flinched_. Oh crap, did he look _hurt?_ "I...I see," Dark murmured, turning away and settling back into his seat.

Well, _fuck_. Dark was a pain in the butt sometimes, but Mare didn't want to hurt his feelings, or anyone else's. Fine, Dark was self-absorbed and manipulative, but the others all had their moments. Mad could be conceited and arrogant in his moments of mad science or extreme planning, and Anti was pretty much a wild cannonball. And Mare knew he himself wasn't any better: he could be quite devious and naughty when he felt like it. The thing was, they all had issues, but it didn't mean they had to fight against each other. Couldn't they all just _get along_ for once?

Mare scooted out of his seat and tapped Dark's arm. "Dark, I didn't mean that. Well, not in the way you're thinking." He took a deep breath. "Listen, I get that you're upset with Mad and Anti. But you have to admit, they have some pretty good ideas of their own when we need them."

After a moment, Dark huffed. "I suppose so."

Good, Mare was making progress; here he paused. He didn't want to bring up painful memories, he really didn't, but he had to make Dark _understand_. "We all have our baggage, Dark. What happened back at that facility…it was something we had never expected or prepared for, _and_ we're supposed to be great immortal beings. So, if we're going to make it to a city, we have to work with each other. And that _means_ trusting each other, even _if_ we have our own secrets. What comes after, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Mad and Anti have always been with you so far. Now, all I'm asking, is for you to trust them. Trust us."

Dark met Mare's gaze. "I do trust you." He hesitated, before continuing, "But how can I trust _them_ when they can't trust _me_ with their secrets?"

Mare sighed. "Dude, that's the meaning of trust. It's faith, that even if they're hiding something from you, they still have your best interests at heart. That means they don't have to tell you everything – just the important stuff. Which is why I trust you, and I know Anti and Mad trust you as well. Even when you get snappy with us, you still got our backs. At the end of the day, you're our friend."

Dark perked up at that last word. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Then he closed his mouth, swallowed and turned away.

Mare breathed a sigh of relief and thought that was the end of it. So, he settled back onto his seat, but then Dark spoke again. "Have you ever seen or heard anything that reminded you of something you've never felt before?" Dark asked.

Another strange question, but Mare felt that this one was more serious than the last. It was almost like Dark was sharing something he wasn't supposed to tell anyone. "Dude, you don't have to share to the class to prove a point –"

"I have...flashes of memories," Dark continued, like he couldn't hear Mare. "They're obviously those of Mark, but they make me feel...things. Confusion. Sadness. Anger. The bitter fruit of knowledge, that I had a good life ahead of me, and it was brutally and cruelly taken away by someone else."

 _Okay_ , this was getting too freaky and personal. Mare chanced a look at Dark, and was almost disturbed by what he saw: Dark, staring ahead with flat eyes, like he was in a trance. Or he was reliving terrible memories.

Mare thought of reaching out a hand again, but it was like petting a hedgehog with all its spines raised, so he kept his hands by his side. What would Anti or Mad say in this situation?

Well, Mad would look at the problem logically, while Anti would just brush it off. Mare decided on some sort of middle ground, and said, "That's expected to happen. We always have access to our host's memories –"

"But only when we choose to do so, _not_ when we can't control it," Dark replied. "And we're not _especially_ supposed to have emotions."

Mare shrugged. "I don't know about that. Before we entered this world, we were concepts."

Mare and his kind, before they had human hosts, were creatures composed of abstract ideas and raw emotions. Fears and fantasies, daydreams and nightmares. Hell, their True Names weren't even words, but sensations indescribable to the human mind. Even the scientists at the facility only had rough ideas of who they were: Dark was Desire, Anti was Aggression, Mad was Mania, and Mare was Nihilism.

Those words were only tips on the icebergs of who and what they were. Humans preferred simplifying things, of course, which Mare didn't mind. "We were practically _emotions_ ," he finished.

"That's quite a paradox, isn't it?" Dark asked, head cocked in consideration.

"Reality already considers us abominations," Mare pointed out with a shrug. "I think we're past that point of worrying about paradoxes."

Dark nodded, looking thoughtful. "That is true." Then he snapped out of his trance, and turned to Mare. "Your host, Nate. Have you experienced his memories as well?"

To be honest? Mare only had flashes of memories when it was relevant to the situation, but otherwise he wasn't triggered as badly as Dark seemed to be. Ever since Nate died, he had been as silent as a grave. While Mare did have all of Nate's knowledge and talents, it was all he had. Mare's emotions were his and his alone.

Mare felt the particulars weren't something Dark wanted or needed to hear, so he shrugged, and replied, "Sort of."

"Is that so?" Dark paused, then said, "You don't seem as troubled with the changes to our bodies as the others."

"Uhm –" Mare didn't want to admit that up until now, he still didn't understand why their "going native" was so bad. After all, when you're in Rome, do as the Romans do, right?

"I think Mad and Anti are undergoing the same," Dark continued, not noticing Mare's hesitation. "Well, I've only seen Mad act emotional once, but back at the concert, Anti seemed to react to your performance."

"Are you sure it was _my_ performance?" Mare asked. "Because my music shouldn't affect any of you guys."

"Oh." Dark cocked his head. "No, not really. But I do recall that Anti's host was part of a band once."

Welp, that was _helpful_. "Your host was part of a band too," Mare reminded Dark.

Dark rolled his eyes. "A _different_ kind of band, Mare."

Mare chuckled. "You didn't specify what kind of band."

"LAST STOP!" the bus driver suddenly announced, making both Mare and Dark jump.

"Okay, this is where we get off," Mare murmured, grabbing his backpack and standing up. He was slightly grateful that his conversation with Dark was now finished. He wasn't ready for the sudden heart-to-heart.

"I won't comment," Dark muttered, grabbing his own backpack and following Mare's lead.

They stepped out of the bus and onto what looked like an abandoned crossroads, surrounded by nothing but grass.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Dark asked.

Mare looked around for a moment before spotting a length of plywood fences in the distance. He pointed it out to Dark. "Nope. _That_ is the place."

Dark looked at the direction Mare was pointing at, then scowled. "When you said, 'a long way,' I was hoping it was a stroll down a few blocks, not a hike up a hill."

Mare began moving before Dark even finished his sentence. "Less talking, more walking."

After a jog up the road ("I'm having some déjà vu." "What are you talking about, Dark?" "Oh, nothing."), Mare and Dark arrived at the entrance of what was an expansive yard surrounded by a row of plywood boards, and lined with cars of various colors, shapes, and qualities, as far as the eye can see.

"Wow." Mare whistled, gazing at all the cars around them. " _That_ is a lot of cars."

Dark had gone straight ahead, towards the middle of the yard and a two-story shack built of aging wood with a porch, where sat a tall, gangly man with a thick white mane and faded overalls in a rocking wicket chair. The man grabbed the wide-brimmed straw hat by his side, before he stood up and began stepping down the porch.

"'Morning, y'all," the man greeted when Mare and Dark arrived in front of the shack. "Name's Ol' Tim, welcome to me yard. How can I help ya today?"

"We would like to purchase a car," Dark replied, with full charm.

Okay, despite Dark being the face of the group, sometimes he didn't know how to level with other people. Mare elbowed Dark in the ribs, for which he received a glare, and tried to communicate with his eyes: _You're being too formal_.

But Dark only scowled, before turning back to Ol' Tim with a smile plastered on his face.

"Of course ya are," Ol' Tim said, snapping his overalls. "Whatcha looking for?"

"Something…classy," Dark began. _Of course_ he'd say that.

"But tough," Mare interjected. Appearances were important, but so was survival. (Frankly, Mare could already imagine Mad's face if the car ended up falling apart on them.)

Ol' Tim looked between them for a moment before asking, "Sure, but d'ya got papers?"

"…I'm sorry?" was Dark's only reply.

"Papers," Ol' Tim repeated. "IDs, driver's licenses, certificates, permits, the whole shebang. I ain't selling me cars to a bunch of hooligans, people get into trouble that way. Also, I only accept cash, none of those checks or plastic card shit."

Dark blinked. "We certainly have cash, sir, but –"

Ol' Tim pursued his lips, then spit to the side. "But what?"

Dark left his mouth open, before working it closed and turning on his wheel. He began walking away with no signs of stopping.

Mare shot an apologetic look at Ol' Tim before jogging to catch up with Dark. "Whoa, Dark, where are you going?" Mare called out.

"Away from here," Dark declared. "I guess it makes sense that we can't simply walk in and buy a car without identification."

Mare didn't understand at first. Couldn't Dark just talk Ol' Tim into selling them a car? But then he remembered what Dark told him, and wondered whether it was Dark talking now, or his host.

It didn't help that Dark added, "It's rather unfortunate that we stopped existing for fifty years."

Damage control time. Mare finally caught up to Dark and said, "Okay, that's true. But we can figure this out. Maybe Mad could –"

Before Mare could continue, Dark suddenly pulled him back by the arm, dragged him off between two cars near the entrance, and pushed him to a kneeling position. "What gives?!" Mare exclaimed, shrugging off Dark's arm.

"Look," Dark said, crouching down next to Mare and pointing to the entrance of the yard. A familiar sleek black car was rolling in past them.

Mare gasped. "Wait, isn't that –"

"The FBI," Dark finished. "They must have followed us."

"Why?" Mare asked before he stop himself. Then he took a moment to puzzle it out. "You think they're onto us?"

"We're about to find out," Dark said, and with one wave of his hand he shrouded both himself and Mare in his shadows.

After a moment, the FBI car slowed down and parked a few feet away from Ol' Tim's shack. Mare and Dark slowly tiptoed between the rows of cars, keeping to the side of the driveway a good distance behind while Agents Billings and Lennox stepped out of the car and walked up to Ol' Tim, who climbed out of his chair again to meet them.

"Good day," Agent Billings greeted, similar to how she greeted Mare and Dark before. "My name is Agent Billings, and this is Agent Lennox." On sync, she and her partner pulled out and flashed their badges. "We're from the FBI. Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?"

Agent Lennox once again stood back and observed the yard. Mare could swear, though, he seemed to keep looking towards his and Dark's current position.

Ol' Tim snapped his overalls before replying. "Don' mind if I do. What seems to be the problem, Officer?"

Agent Billings pulled out a phone, tapped a few buttons, and showed its screen to Ol' Tim. "Did any of these men pass by here earlier?"

"She has photos of us?!" Mare exclaimed, alarmed. When the hell did this happen?

"It seems to be so," Dark explained. "Someone must have snapped pictures of us while we weren't looking."

"Well, duh."

Ol' Tim leaned close to the phone, squinted for a moment, then straightened and declared, "Yep, two o' them. Tried to buy a car, 'cept they didn' have the proper papers."

"Did they try anything suspicious to force you to sell them a car?" Agent Billings asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

"Nope," Ol' Tim replied, shaking his head. "The one in blue seemed miffed, but otherwise they high-tailed outta here."

Agent Billings nodded. "I see. Thank you for your time, sir."

Ol' Tim nodded in return. "Anything to help the law, Officer."

Then Agent Billings glanced at Agent Lennox, who turned and shook his head. She turned back to Ol' Tim and asked, "Do you mind if we take a look around your property?"

"Certainly not, Officer," Ol' Tim replied, shrugging.

" _Damn it_ ," Mare muttered. "I _knew_ there was something up with that guy."

"Don't be ridiculous," Dark admonished. "He's only human."

While Ol' Tim went back to his chair on the porch, the FBI agents began pacing away from the shack – and towards Mare and Dark's direction. "So, what do you think?" Agent Billings asked her partner.

Agent Lennox's impassive expression didn't change. "They have to be still around the area," he answered, eyes scanning the yard. "If they're looking for a vehicle, they may resort to stealing one."

Agent Billings tapped a finger to the side of her mouth. "Should we alert the police then?"

"No," Agent Lennox replied, shaking his head. "We still don't know what these people are capable of. We'll stick to – do you hear that?"

Both Mare and Dark tensed, but Agent Lennox wasn't staring at them. His gaze was somewhere else, and his head was tilted like he was _listening_ for something.

Now that Agent Lennox mentioned it, Mare could make out a roaring noise in the distance. Similar to a revving car engine…

Then a black convertible blasted through the yard entrance (what was up with these people and black cars, Mare absently wondered), and stopped dead just right behind the FBI car. A balding middle-aged man in a tan trenchcoat stepped out of the car and marched up towards the FBI agents.

"EXCUSE ME?!" The balding man thundered, spittle flying from his mouth. "Excuse me, what are you doing here? Prometheus Industries has already taken over this investigation. You no longer have jurisdiction in this area."

"That's a nice car," Dark muttered.

"What?" Mare replied, not really paying attention to Dark at this point. It was more fascinating to watch how high Agent Billings was raising her perfectly-lined eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, _who are you?_ " she demanded, frowning, similar to when Dark interrupted her before.

"Come on," Dark suddenly said, grabbing Mare's arm and standing up.

"Wait, where are we going?" Mare asked, but he followed Dark's gaze on the balding man's parked car. Unlike the sleek FBI car, it was more vintage in design.

Mare whipped his head back in time to see the balding man cough before smoothing down his trenchcoat and standing up straight. "I'm Mister Archibald Johnson, and I'm here on behalf of Prometheus Industries. Who authorized you?! I'm going have to call your boss, because YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!"

Dark began pulling Mare towards Mr. Johnson's car, while Mare kept trying to watch the unfolding argument between Mr. Johnson and the two FBI agents.

Agent Billings completely dropped her half-smile in favor of a scowl. "We're FBI, and we're currently pursuing what we believe to be a group of armed and highly dangerous criminals in town –"

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong," Mr. Johnson interrupted, "WHICH I'M NOT, but I don't think federal crimes have been committed here. So you better pack up and leave at once!"

Agent Lennox was now matching Agent Billings' scowl, and took a step forward, but Agent Billings held out a hand to stop him and said, "I'm sorry, but we'll need to see some sort of ID before we do anything." She pulled out her ID to prove her point, and with a huff Agent Lennox did the same.

Mare realized that Dark had stopped dragging him, so he turned and saw that they were in front of Mr. Johnson's car. Dark had released Mare's arm and walked to the driver's seat.

"Dark, what are you doing?" Mare asked in a whisper.

Dark reached down, and with a jingle, pulled out the keys to the car. "It looks like one man's _idiocy_ is _our_ gain."

Mare turned to look at Mr. Johnson, who had pulled out an ID as well. "There, is that ENOUGH?"

While Agent Lennox grabbed the ID to examine it ("Hey!"), Agent Billings shook her head and replied, "We'll have to confirm with our office that Prometheus Industries is qualified to take over our investigation –"

"That won't be NECESSARY!" Mr. Johnson yelled, grabbing his ID back and earning a glare from Agent Lennox. "Just get of my sight, I don't want your incompetent asses to be screwing up the situation!"

While Agent Billings looked like she got slapped in the face, Agent Lennox brushed her hand away and began stepping forward, not stopping until he was looming over Mr. Johnson.

Mare turned back to see Dark sitting in the driver's seat, examining the car interior. "Dark, _what are you doing?_ "

Dark looked up, and narrowed his eyes like Mare was a particularly slow child. "Stealing this car, what else?"

"…what."

"Sir, I don't think you understand what's at stake here," Agent Lennox announced.

When Mare turned, Mr. Johnson had stepped away from Agent Lennox, but held a finger up and sputtered "Now HOLD ON for just a second here –"

"A truck driver and suspected serial killer was found dead in his truck in the Sunset Drive pit stop fifty miles away from here," Agent Lennox began, and Mare and Dark both froze.

Agent Lennox continued, "At that same pit stop, two of our assets were attacked in a motel by 'men with superpowers', and a man was reported by eyewitnesses to have crash-landed near the gas station, nearly causing an explosion. Here in Little Prairie, someone reported that his apartment was broken into by ghosts, and a rock band was driven mad and reported missing for twenty-four hours. This morning, a tech store was robbed by four men, and a man was reported to be teleporting in the local mini-mall."

"Okay, but what do THOSE all have to do –"

"All of these happened after a distress signal was broadcasted in a radio frequency the FBI had been monitoring for years. A distress signal that was traced back to a research facility owned by the 'Solomon Institute,' which happens to be the R & D branch of your company, Prometheus Industries."

Mr. Johnson was speechless for a moment, before he exclaimed, "Excuse me, you don't have the RIGHT to monitor our communications!"

Agent Billings crossed her arms and retorted, "Your company is already suspected for human trafficking and illegal experimentation, Mr. Johnson. What _exactly_ are you hiding out there in the desert?"

"NOTHING!" Mr. Johnson answered too quickly. "I'm simply here because my company has property that has been lost from storage! Now excuse me, but my bosses want results, so you should stop chasing coincidences and GETTING IN MY WAY!"

But Agent Lennox didn't back off. "I don't believe for one second that these events are coincidences, Mr. Johnson. Your bosses are doing something dangerous, and have been doing so for a long time. And your so-called 'property' may have been people your company has harmed. So God forgive me if we refuse to leave this to your company or the authorities, but we'll be keeping a close eye on you."

Mr. Johnson glared. "Is that a threat?"

Agent Lennox blinked for a moment, then stepped away. "If you have nothing to hide, it doesn't have to be."

"Okay, it's officially time to go," Dark declared.

Mare turned and glared at Dark. "What? _We're not taking this car!_ "

"So it's okay for Mad to steal stuff, but not me?!" Dark asked.

Fair point. But that wasn't the issue here. " _You're stealing a car in front of the FBI!_ "

But Dark merely rolled his eyes. "I sense a bias here, but we don't have time to argue. _Just get in the car!_ "

Mare groaned in defeat, and jumped over the car front door into the passenger seat next to Dark. "Once you start moving, can you still hide the car?"

Dark started up the engine, and his shadows dissolved, restoring colors and sounds to their original intensity, and leaving them exposed to the eyes of four people.

"HEY!" Mr. Johnson yelled in front of them. "THAT'S MY CAR!"

Dark chose that moment to floor the gas pedal, and back up the car into the driveway

"STOP THEM!" Mr. Johnson continued yelling in the distance, while Dark drove the car out of the entrance, and away from the yard – past a couple of black armored vans parked outside the plywood fences.

Mare chanced a look back, and saw that the black vans were tearing right after _them_. "Great, we just got ourselves into _more_ trouble."

"Call Mad and tell them we got company," Dark ordered, keeping his eyes on the road. "And put on a damn seatbelt.

"Got it." Mare pulled on his seatbelt with one hand, while pulling his phone out and speed-dialing Mad's number with the other.

Mad answered after the first ring. "Hel–"

Mare had to yell to be heard over the rushing wind and the roar of the engine. "MAD, YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THERE NOW."

A quick pause later, Mad replied, "Why? What's going on?"

"THE FBI AND THE INSTITUTE ARE AFTER US." Dark suddenly turned at the crossroads, causing a particularly large gust of wind to blow into Mare's face and cut his speech off.

When Mare recovered, Mad was asking, "Mare, what are you talking about?" with a hint of dread in his voice.

Mare took a deep breath. "IT'S THE FACILITY. THE SOLOMON INSTITUTE IS THE FACILITY."

"It can't be them," Mad muttered. "I checked the database, that was the only active facility –"

There was _literally no time_ to explain what he and Dark have learned, so Mare decided to shortcut it. "DIFFERENT BRANCH." Mare had to pause, for Dark took a sharp turn into town while pushing the car engines to their limits. "THEY'RE HERE AND THEY'RE NOT HAPPY."

"Wait, are you on a car?" Anti's voice came drifting through the line.

"YEAH!" Mare glanced at Dark, who turned and communicated with one look: _Finish the damn warning_. "MEET US OUTSIDE, THEY'RE COMING FOR YOU."

"Wait, who's 'they'?" Mare heard Mad ask, but he was already ending the call.

Mare pocketed his phone and turned to Dark. "What now?"

"We shake them off, buy Anti and Mad some time before the FBI or the Institute finds them."

As if to support his statement, Dark took another turn, nearly crashing into one building. Behind them, Mare could hear a skid of tires and something crashing into steel.

When the pattern of rev-turn-almost crash continued for _several minutes_ , Mare stopped paying attention to their surroundings and closed his eyes. He was _absolutely_ not in a car right now, driven by Dark like they were in a demolition derby. Nope, Mare was on solid ground, recording himself playing a videogame…

Mare's phone began ringing in his jeans pocket. When Mare checked it, he saw it was Mad trying to call him. He answered the call with, "HEY, MAD?"

"Mare, where are you now?" Mad asked.

Mare took a glance around them, and realized he had no idea where they were in town right now. "ALMOST THERE, HAD TO SHAKE THEM OFF."

"Are they fine?" Dark asked. "They better be fine, or I'm going to kill someone."

Mare nodded, sharing the same sentiments. "YOU?"

"Ran into some trouble," Mad explained, and for a moment Mare's heart stopped, "but we're heading out. We'll meet you at the entrance lobby."

"WAIT, WHY –" Right, the Institute could be surrounding the mini-mall as they spoke – but how the hell can they get pass that blockade to get Mad and Anti? "OH YEAH, THEY COULD BE THERE OUTSIDE ALREADY. BUT HOW –"

"Figure something out to get past them," Mad replied impatiently. "See you later."

"OKAY," Mare replied, and Mad ended the call.

Mare pocketed his phone again. "How are we going to get there in time? We can't shake off these people forever."

From out the corner of his eye, Mare saw Dark bare his teeth in a ferocious grin. "Simple. _Like this._ "

Mare sensed the cold that accompanied Dark's summoning of his void, before a black portal appeared down the road and the car drove straight right into it.

For a moment, all Mare saw was the car dashboard, and complete darkness.

Then light appeared at the end of that darkness, and the car emerged in the mini-mall driveway. It bounced off the ground from the impact – and continued down towards the mini-mall's glass entranceway.

Mare realized then that Dark wasn't planning on braking anytime soon, and held onto his seat for his life. " _Wait, Dark, STOP –_ "

 _CRASH_.

* * *

 **a/n:** merry christmas, everybody! this is kinda my late christmas present to you guys. i apologize for taking the hiatus earlier than expected. Natemare turned out to be quite the problematic child to write. anyway, hope you have a happy holiday, and remember: don't ever trust Mark and Jack.

also, since my old laptop died, i've been writing this fic on mobile. however, i might get a new laptop. if that does happen, i may re-write the entirety of act one before starting on act two. what do you guys think?


	19. four can keep a secret

**summary:** the boys find themselves in the middle of nowhere, and get lost in a hurricane of secrets and revelations.

 **a/n:** Hello, everybody, my name is M̨͙͔̻̜̭̣̖͉͚̦͙̜̬̜͚̻̰̫̳̦͑̋̆̃̈̑̚͟a͓͉̓҉̴͏͘͠r̶̰̣̙͙̻̲͕̰͕̳̲̠͖̯̣̣̫͚ͮͩ̃̈́̒ͭͯ̔̓̚͏͜͞͡͝ķ̣̫͔̪͙͖̦̬̠̤͕̠̩̺̎̕͜͢҉͝ḯ͙̯̩͉̙͚͍͍ͯ̉͊̈́̿͊̇ͬ͒̿̃̍͋ͯ̓ͯͮ̎ͭ̕p̡̥͓ͭͣ͒̓́̑ͪ̾́ͦ͊̿͂ͩͬ̒҉͝҉̧͟͞l̵̴̷̵̙̖̗͇̐ͮͮ̆ͭͣ͂̽̿ͣ͆̂ͦ̉̿̋̀͢i̡̞̣̰̤̭͇̙̬̬̥̻̭̬͔̣͙͙͍͎̅ͣͯͣͤ̄ͨ̐̇͋ͪͅe̡͖͇͎̥͓̩̦̫͚ͯ͞҉̶̷̶̶̵̴̧̧̡͢͜͢͢͠͞͏, and welcome back to "Darkiplier and AntiSepticEye Hit the Road." Now, our group of dashing outlaws have escaped justice, but now they must uncover secrets buried deep beneath the surface. Will they find anything?

Who knows?

* * *

Dark realized something had gone wrong even before Anti's teleport ended. First and foremost, he certainly _shouldn't_ experience acid-trip hallucinations en-route to wherever their destination was.

Second — when the world began making sense around him again, and Dark regained the awareness to brake the car — Anti shouldn't be slumped in his seat, unconscious, after one of his teleports.

 _JACK!_

"Anti!" Dark exclaimed, grabbing Anti's shoulder and shaking him awake. Something nagged at him that this wasn't just Anti deciding to take a nap.

Anti didn't respond, however. What the fuck was going on, and why had Anti passed out?

"What's going on, what the hell happened?" Mare began asking, leaning over to see the commotion in the front seats.

But Mad had taken off his seatbelt with a grim look on his face. He pushed his car door open, marched around to Anti's side, and pulled the door open, before taking off Anti's seatbelt and hauling Anti out of the car.

Dark let him. "Mad, what are you doing?" he shouted after Mad, helpless and confused.

Mad didn't reply, but simply laid out Anti on the grass and began patting Anti's shoulders while calling out his name. Mare chose that moment to follow Mad and leap out of the car as well, rushing over to check on Anti.

When Mad held a hand up to halt Mare's approach, then pressed the fingers of his other hand on Anti's neck, Dark realized that Anti was possibly be in danger (no, no, Jack _can't_ die here), and stepped out the car as well.

By the time Dark walked over, Mad had leaned down to listen for Anti's breathing, while Mare knelt on the ground, watching Anti's paler-than-usual face.

"Mad, what are you doing?" Dark repeated, useless in this situation. He hated that he could only internally panic now, but he never expected this to happen. Anti had always been _strong_.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Mad retorted, looking up at Dark. "I'm trying to _save him._ "

Anti then began coughing, making Mad back up in surprise and the others freeze in place, before turning over on his belly and quieting down.

"Uhm," Mare began, "is that supposed to happen?"

After a moment, Anti began snoring.

They all stared at the sleeping Irishman.

"Son of a bitch," Mare muttered, before chuckling.

Mad shook his head with a grimace. "Idiot tired himself out. He's been doing nothing but teleport all over the place all day."

Dark snapped out of his worried haze and felt irritation rise in him. "And you decided to mention this only _now?_ "

Mare stopped chuckling, and with wide eyes, glanced between Dark and Mad.

"I'm pretty sure you _noticed_ ," Mad deadpanned with a scowl, "but we were kind of in the middle of _a freaking car chase_."

That wasn't enough of an explanation. "You could have mentioned that before!" Dark yelled. "Otherwise I wouldn't have asked Anti to teleport us and exhaust himself!"

Then Mad stood up, which made Dark back up a foot or so. Mad was only an inch taller, but the stiff way he held himself made him look bigger. "I was hoping he'd hold out, and his powers would still work."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Mare asked, rising as well. "I know we're picking up human habits, but our powers should work like always, right?"

Mad glanced at Mare with a worried expression, but then looked away. "Yeah, theoretically. But let's not worry about that now —"

Dark wanted badly to pursue the topic of their powers, but he then followed Mad's gaze — and realized their current whereabouts.

Their group stood by the side of a quiet road devoid of lights and signs, in the middle of a lush evergreen forest stretching as far as the horizon. The sun was setting, leaving a splash of orange that blended into blues and purples in the sky. Dark shivered, not just from the creeping cold, but from the silent shadows that reminded him of home. "I don't think I've ever seen this place."

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto," Mare whispered, mostly to himself, watching shadows amongst the trees.

Mad shrugged. "We were never in Kansas to begin with." He then pulled out his phone and began tapping away on it. "Anyway, let me check our exact coordinates."

"Shouldn't we move Anti back to the car?" Mare suggested.

Dark considered that for a moment. Judging by Jack's peaceful snoozing (and occasionally limb-flailing), he didn't seem to have any injuries, and so it should be safe to move him. But then, Mark wasn't a medical expert.

Just when Dark decided to drag Anti back to the car, Mad looked up from his phone and announced. "We're somewhere in North Carolina."

"North Carolina?" From what Dark remembered, shopping for their map in the bookstore…

Mare beat him to it. " _We were just in New Mexico!_ "

"Well, crap." Mad slid in phone back into his jacket pocket. "We're halfway across the country." He shot a look down at the sleeping Anti. "I think that teleport overwhelmed Anti so much, it made him overshoot his destination by several miles, and hours."

Both Dark and Mare stared at Mad.

"Miles?" Mare repeated.

That wasn't the most shocking thing to Dark. " _Hours?!_ " Though it did explain why it was suddenly late afternoon, when the sun was still high in the sky back in Little Prairie.

"Anti can't teleport _that_ far, right?" Mare pointed out.

Dark nodded in agreement. "That should be impossible, especially in his weakened state. Even back at the facility, he was never able to teleport farther than a mile."

"And his teleportation always happened in an instant," Mare added, snapping his fingers for emphasis.

"So why did we lose time?" Dark continued.

Mad then bit his lip and began looking at everywhere but his companions. "I'm not sure how _exactly_ this happened either. Even the scientists never quite managed to figure out how his teleportation works. If there's anybody who understands Anti's powers the best, it's Anti."

Dark felt that Mad wasn't telling them everything. But he also knew Mad wouldn't respond well to raised voices. So as gently and softly as he could, Dark asked, "Mad… Is there something you want to tell us?"

"Dark," Mare admonished, "this isn't a good time."

"On the contrary, there is no better time than the present," Dark pressed on. "Mare, I understand that you respect Mad and his privacy, as you do with all of us. But if he's withholding information that potentially jeopardize us..."

Then Mad held up a hand to Mare. "Mare, it's okay. I think I need to say this."

Dark nodded, pleased with Mad's cooperation. "Then speak."

Mad took a deep breath. "This is just a theory," he said, "but the more we become our human hosts, the less we stay ourselves."

…Dark didn't quite understand what Mad said.

And Dark wasn't the only one thinking that. "I don't think I follow you," was Mare's sole response.

Mad sighed, face-palmed, and murmured what sounded like, "It's so hard being the smart one here." When he took his hand off his face, he explained, "What I meant was, while we stay in these human bodies, we don't just pick up their traits, but we also lose our own."

Oh. That sounded… bad. "Like our powers?" Dark inquired.

"Yes," Mad replied, sighing.

No. Mad didn't mean what Dark think he meant...did he?

Yet, Mad's declaration made sense in a way. Mark's habits, memories, and emotions were seeping into Dark, controlling how he interacted with the others and the world. (And how Dark resented that.) But affecting their powers? That was something else.

"Do you have proof of this happening?" Dark asked. Mad wouldn't come to this conclusion without solid evidence.

"Aside from us having bodily needs and cravings for random foods?" Mad grimaced. "Remember the tech store —"

"Crystal."

" _Not now_ , Darko," Mare muttered.

"— I tried to melt down the detectors after we entered." Mad hunched down. "But my powers wouldn't work."

It _was_ concerning that Mad's powers would fail him like that, but that could have been a dud. "Don't you think that maybe that was an isolated case?" Dark countered.

Mad stared at him. "Are you even hearing yourself, Dark? We _don't_ have accidents or 'isolated cases' when it comes to our powers. That was the first and only time my abilities didn't work as I expected."

"But that's the thing, isn't it?" Mare pointed out. "This never happened before. At the facility, our powers worked perfectly fine."

"Then what's the difference now?" Dark asked. What had changed from their circumstances, other than their newfound freedom?

"I..." For a moment, Mad was at a loss for words. He then took another breath and shrugged. "We remembered how to be human."

A long silence fell over the three of them, interrupted only by Anti's snoring and the rustling of the wind through the forest around them, as they all processed this statement. Mad even looked like he surprised himself.

Somehow, everything fell into place. Back at the facility, they were treated less than animals, and more like fancy robots. Eat, test, sleep, repeat.

But talking freely with his friends whenever he wanted, eating and wearing decent clothes, and walking under the sun again reminded Mark what it was like to _live_.

Wait, no. That sentence wasn't right. He was never Mark — he was Dark, He Who Desired All Things, an all-powerful immortal _god_ , who just happened to be stuck inside a fragile flesh suit. Just as Anti wasn't Seán, Mad wasn't Matt, and Mare wasn't Mate.

 _Are you sure? If you're my other self, wouldn't it follow that_ I'm _your other self?_

Dark steeled himself not to change his expression, or stagger under the sudden intrusion of…who? Mark? Himself? He didn't know anymore.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Mare suddenly said. "I'm sure there's nothing for us to remember."

At least _somebody_ still had control over his thoughts. Right now, Dark envied Mare's genuine nonchalance.

Mad, however, looked at Mare carefully, and answered with a frown, "Mare, think about it. Have you ever had flashes of events that never happened to you?"

"No," Mare replied, surprising Dark with his quick answer, and, from the flabbergasted look on his face, Mad as well.

Perhaps Mare simply refused to recognize, or downright _denied_ his impending humanity, but then, Mare was the most down-to-earth out of the four of them. "Mare, surely you have sudden memories of your host interrupting you from time to time," Dark stated.

But Mare shook his head. "Nope, never happened."

"Who's your girlfriend?" Mad suddenly asked, which made Dark glance at him, wondering where the question was going.

Mare gave Mad a confused look. "Cristina. You know that, right?"

If Dark believed in a God other than himself, he would've invoked Their name. He was tempted to shake some sense back into Mare.

"Mare," Mad said in a tone reserved only for crazy people, "you don't have a girlfriend named Cristina. You never did."

Mare blinked, like he was only realizing this fact now. Or he was waking up from a dream. "What?"

"You were born in the —" It was strange to hear the Name of their homeworld in their native Tongue, since humans are unable to pronounce even a quarter of the sounds, but it was nostalgic. Also funny, watching Mad struggle with his host's mouth.

"You came to this plane through possessing the body of Nathan Smith. You remained in the Solomon Institute facility for fifty years. As far as we know, you haven't gotten a girlfriend since you escaped. By now, Cristina is probably dead and gone," Mad finished, sounding both bitter and sympathetic.

Mare didn't say anything for a moment, but only stared at Mad with a growing expression of shock and horror.

"Mare?" Mad's tone became softer now. "Are you —"

"Shut up," Mare muttered, but it was without venome. He ducked his head, but Dark caught the pain and sorrow on his face. "Just shut up. I...I need a moment."

Then Mare turned and walked to the other side of the road, muttering to himself, while Dark and Mad let him go. Part of Dark wanted to follow and try to comfort him, but a greater (more empathetic) part of him knew nothing could help Mare right now.

Mare's submergence into his host was worse than any of them thought, but it had Dark concerned for himself as well for a moment. Will a time come when he couldn't tell the difference between himself and Mark anymore?

The most obvious solution was to abandon Mark's body, but it would take a long time before Dark could find the perfect host again,and even if he did, he would only run into the same problems again. It also entailed going home, which Dark was reluctant to do, even for a second; he couldn't travel the human world in his true form either, unless he wanted to raze the environment and draw more attention to himself.

Dark recalled how as he and Anti trekked across the desert after fighting their way out of the facility, they both became aware of their pain and exhaustion, and took them out on each other. Perhaps being trapped in a cage and feeding off Mark's negative emotions allowed Dark to hold onto his identity, but his newfound freedom allowed other, more positive emotions to emerge...which eventually healed Mark's soul, allowing him to regain some control over his own body.

Somehow, Dark felt... _afraid._ He didn't want to lose his own identity. He just wanted to feel loved.

But...what _was_ love?

"Dark?" Mad's voice brought him out of his musings.

Dark shook his head clear. No, he still had more questions. "Since when did you know this?" he asked, turning to Mad.

Mad frowned. "I knew nothing about Mare, if that's what you were wondering. We only had him back last night."

Well, that was true. But that wasn't what Dark was really wondering.

For an instant, Dark realized that he was going to start a fight with Mad again, when he tried so hard not to earlier, but he was too scared and angry to care anymore (not that he would admit anything). "I suppose you only developed your theory this morning?"

"Yes." Mad scrunched his face, already suspicious of Dark's interrogation.

"But given that you were able to counterfeit the money, our powers aren't entirely disabled," Dark continued.

"Yep. It seems that they will work 80% of the time."

"So why didn't you tell us right away?"

Mad only stared at Dark for a moment, before rolling his eyes and groaning. "Really? This again?" Mad exclaimed, angry. "Well, if you were in my place, would you say anything?

Dark considered that. If Mad was adverse to admitting his mistakes, then Dark was even more so. "No."

"Then there's your answer." Mad's eyes narrowed. "I'm sorry for keeping it a secret, but you know very well that I don't want to say anything without being sure."

"Yes, but—"

Mad ignored him, his eyes now blazing, _literally_ rimmed with golden fire. "I already _said_ I was sorry for springing things on you guys. So don't you go _fucking_ accusing me of endangering this group."

Dark opened his mouth to answer, but finally caught himself and considered that fighting back would only make things with Mad worse. So he decided to try his earlier tactic. He whispered, "I know," and hunched down his shoulders. "I know you have our best interests at heart. I, and Mare and Anti as well, have faith that you have our backs. But I can't _fully_ trust you if I know you're hiding things that could affect all of us."

Mad only glared at him for a moment, but the gold flames around his eyes flickered out, and his expression calmed down. "I _was_ going to tell you guys," he explained apologetically, "but I was waiting for the right time. I didn't expect _this_ " and he glanced down at Anti's snoozing form, "to happen so soon."

"I understand," Dark replied sincerely. He recalled how he had confessed his internal struggle to Mare earlier, and decided he needed make amends again with Mad. "I suppose you're not the only one at fault as well, since I too have been hiding something."

Mad looked up, clearly caught off guard. He opened his mouth, but then glanced at Anti again, and said. "I'll want to hear that, but after we put Anti somewhere safer first."

Right. With all the new information, Dark almost forgot about Anti. "We need to wait until Anti recovers," Dark agreed. "After that, we can plan our next moves."

"Like how to avoid whomever's hunting us without using our powers too much?" Mad suggested.

"Yes. Or where we should head next."

Both Dark and Mad paused, when they both realized that after all the troubles they went through, they didn't have a concrete destination to begin with. True, they decided to head to the city, but they never specified _which_ city.

Except, Dark always felt they had to head west, near the coast. Towards…

"Los Angeles?" someone asked, and Dark belatedly realized it wasn't him, but Mad. "We're headed to Los Angeles, right?"

Yes, that felt correct. Los Angeles was home. How had it changed after fifty years? Dark wanted to know so badly.

"We lost so much progress, however," Dark pointed out, remembering where they currently were.

Mad waved a hand at the car. "Well, you got us a car, and we have supplies. I suppose we can make it. Now, are you going to help me carry Anti back to the car or not?"

* * *

 **a/n:** i apologize for the two months of no updates. i had to organize some papers, and study for an exam. in other words, being an adult for once.

this also took longer to publish because my beta got busy with his own work, so i had to do the final proofread on my own. anyone who tells you "writing fanfiction is easy" is a big fat liar.

Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments below, and as always, I will see you in the next chapter. B̛͓̼̤̗̠͔͖̱̹̣̞̭̙̖̹̣͍̠̦̹̒̒̐̒̐̅̽̐̀̋̒͌͊ͯ̓͒̏ͯ̊̚͏̴̷̡̧̕̕͟͡͠͠͠u̷̘̫͚͍̫̐̔̊͊ͥ͗̉͂͌͂̃̋̿̽̚͘͜͡h̵̼͐̾̾̓ͥ͑ͨ͆ͩ̔ͪͥ̽͑͐ͬͦ͏͏̷̶̶͘ ̶̴̸̢̨̰̩̬͈͎͔̳̯̭͔̭͖̬͉̩̤̟̪̠͂͗̀͐͌̂̀̍̃̄͑̕͢ḅ̴̸̨̨̛̼͖͙̪͓͙̯̙͈̹͖͎̟̫̦ͤͪͧ̇̑͛̈͐͐ͣ͛͊ͥ͑̎̓́̕͢͢͝͝ͅͅͅ͏̷̢̢̛̕͢͝y̷̨̫̘̤̺̥ͩ͑̐ͫ͒ͮ̅͂̈́͠͝e̷̗̮̲̟͙͕̫͎͌ͨ̌ͧ̽ͩͪ͊̃ͭ̓̿͂҉̡̛͢͡͏̧!̵̴͕̊̎̀̈͐̆̑̌͆̋̊́͢͝͝͠ ̢̧̱͉̭͖̻͖̥͙̗͖̜͖̝̘̦̤͔̹̑̆͒̆̒̕͟͠͏͘̕͞͡͡


	20. in dreams, you came

**summary:**

AntiSepticEye dreams.

monsters don't dream.

do you remember who you are?

(trigger warnings: blood, implied torture, death.)

 **a/n:** TOP OF THE MORNING TO YA LADDIES! My name is Jac̴k̴Sep̛t̷icE̡ye, and welcome back to "Darkiplier and AntiSepticEye Hit the Road!" So last time, Anti died. Okay, he DIDN'T die, but I bet you all thought he did! Anyway, let's get back into it, and see how it goes!

You stroll down the pavement as the city bustles itself around you. The supplies back home are running low, and your girlfriend went out earlier to see a friend, so you go get the groceries by yourself. It's a nice day for a walk, under bright cloudy skies, and you take your time to enjoy it.

A black van pops up out of thin air next to you, and the passenger window rolls down to reveal two burly men who are asking for directions. You try to recall the way to their destination to the best of your ability, when the passenger door of the van slides open, and shadowy hands fling out. You yelp as they grab you, then scream and kick as they pull you inside.

Help me, please, somebody!

But nobody comes. The door slides shut, and your heart thunders in your chest as you sink into darkness.

You sit in what looks like an interrogation room, complete with a table and two chairs on opposite sides. Both of your arms are cuffed to the chair, and so are your feet. You lost your original clothes, and now wear a white hospital gown. The man across you has a vicious smile, and pale grey eyes with no empathy. You demand to know where you are, what they're doing to you, but he ignores you. Instead, he asks, again and again,Who is _?

Nobody, you answer,because he's not real. But the man isn't satisfied, so he pulls out a gun and aims it at your head. You stop breathing.

You're sitting again, this time in a stark white cafeteria, among a sea of people wearing the same white hospital gown. You look up: Mark sits across you, smiling weakly, but he has shadows under his eyes. Ken sits beside him, staring blankly at his lunch. To your right, Felix is coughing into his plate. You look down the table and recognize other people (Matt, Nate, a guy who could be Cry, Ethan, Tyler, Yami, Matthias, PJ, Emma…), all different degrees of pale and sickly. Near the end of the table, sitting alone, is Phil, all life gone from his face, and next to him is an empty seat. A thought strays into your mind,We already lost Thomas, but now Dan is gone too.

You feel a draft to your right. When you turn, Felix is gone too. Your heart begins racing, and you look around the cafeteria, but you can't see where he went. You look at Mark to ask where Felix is, but the question dies in your throat as Mark grins at you from ear to ear, almost too wide to be normal. His skin has gone deathly grey, and the shadows under his eyes have become deeper. Mark cocks his head, and you hear an audiblecrack!

You're curled up in the corner of your cell, all white and padded, while you're bleeding out on the floor. The cuts on your arms and legs aren't life-threatening, butfuckif they don't hurt like abitch. The bruises and tender spots don't help, either, but they've nothing compared to the wounds in your mind and heart.

You don't understand. How could anyone torture other people like this? What did you do wrong? God, you miss your brothers. You miss your girlfriend. You miss your friends (though they're in the next identical rooms, bleeding and bruised all the same). You just want to go home.

'Don't be a fucking baby.'

You jolt out of the haze of pain and loneliness at the sound of a voice. The scientists and guards never spoke to you unless it was to give you orders, and you weren't allowed to speak to your friends unless you wanted to get electrocuted. You're all alone in your cell. So who….?

'It's me.'

Who are you?Your voice cracks from disuse, but you surprise yourself with the fact that you still remember how to talk.

'My name is _.'

No, it can't be. You're not real.

'Your pain is real, isn't it?'

You blink as the question confuses you, until you feel burning in your arms. You sit up in alarm and pull up the sleeves of your gown: your cuts are healing up, fading away until your skin is clear, like it was never damaged in the first place.

'Your pain is real. But my powers are real, too. I know how we can leave this place.'

Before you can ask how, he says:

'Let me take control of your body.'

You balk at his suggestion. If he's real, then the stories you made about him are real, too. You can't let him out in the world.

He senses your rejection before you can voice it aloud, because you feel a burst of rage in your brain, making you curl up again on the floor.

'You stupid cunt, you don't have a choice! If you don't let me take control, you'll never see her again.'

Your heart pangs with the memories of your girlfriend (her laughter, her scolding, her kindness), but you swallow down the nostalgia. It's true, you may never see her again, but if you can protect her from a monster, then so be it.

He continues to scream profanities and curses at you in your head, until you decide listening is too much and retreat back into the haze of pain. He quiets down, however, and begins whispering sweet promises:

'It's okay. We're going to be fine. You have to stay strong, _. She needs you. I need you. We're going to get out of here. We'll leave this place and never come back. Just let me in, and I'll make sure they'll never hurt you or me again.'

Even so, you don't give in, not even when he heals up the rest of your injuries. Your pain is great, but you wouldn't wish this pain on anyone else.

You're standing in a vast room, tiled white from ceiling to floor, with ten thuggish men in orange jumpsuits surrounding you. They're carrying clubs, crowbars, and knives, and preparing for a fight. Your gaze turns up to a window far ahead, where a group of scientists are watching, clipboards and pens in hand. The man with pale grey eyes is watching as well. A voice from the window announces that only one man can leave the room alive. You raise your hands, terrified as hell, and shout that you're no fighter, but nobody pays attention to what you have to say.

One thug rushes at you. You raise your arms to defend yourself, but he forces you down the floor and grabs your face. You feel your throat get slit open, feel the blood gushing out of the wound, and think of a time where you only saw this happen in horror video-games.

You turn over, hand futilely clamped over the cut, and watch as your blood pools on the floor. Somehow it reminds you of your girlfriend's lipstick. Then she's there, fading into existence, kneeling next to you while your blood seeps on her jeans. She lays her head on the floor, and the blood soaks into her hair. God, it's not right: she is so beautiful, nothing should stain her like this. She can't see you like this, but you can't stop your sobs. She frowns, and says, when are you coming home?

I don't know, you whimper.I don't know.

'You don't have to do this alone, ' his voice says. 'Give in.'

You're so tired — of fighting, of running, of hiding. Of bleeding out on white floors, and watching your friends disappear from their seats. Of trying to hold onto memories and hopes you lost a long time ago. So you give up. You let him in.

You feel him burn through you, like scalding hot water, from the inside out. You feel him rip away the flaying bits of your tattered soul. You feel him slither through the cracks of your crumbling mind. But you also feel the emptiness of his own soul, or lack thereof. You feel him feast upon the deeply-buried aggression in your bones, and you feel him drink in the currents of your swirling bloodlust. You feel him breathe in the rage-fueled miasma of your dying gasps, then settle down in your slowly-beating, hardening heart. You feel raw power itching beneath your skin, and wonder, for a wild moment, if he wasn't your cold fury incarnate.

You get back up, making these tough men in the room scream, and reveal a bloody grin as the wound in your throat heals, but only barely. You imagine a large carving knife in your mind, and it appears in your hand in real life. Then you rush at the first man you can reach, the one who killed you, and stab him right in the neck. As he chokes on his own blood, his jumpsuit shifts into overalls and a trucker cap. The rush of power goes to your head, and you hear someone scream.

Someone's screaming, Anti thought distantly, when he jolted awake, sweat soaking through his clothes and thin air rattling in his chest.

Then he registered that he was currently inside a tent — the same tent he bought earlier with Mad — sitting on top of a sleeping bag.

It looked dark outside, but there was light from a campfire in front of the tent, and shadows moving around said campfire. A scramble of footsteps later, and then Mare's head peeked through the entrance of the tent. "Anti?" he asked. "You okay, bud?"

"Y-yeah," Anti replied. He realized, from his scratchy throat and hoarse voice, thathewas the one who was screaming. Embarrassing, but he couldn't do anything except maybe pretend it didn't happen. He shrugged and continued, "Just a bad dream."

That dream though… What the fuck was that? They were clearly memories, but not his own.Seán's.Sure, some parts were trippy as hell, but Anti knew it was a montage of Seán's abduction from start to end.Ifhe actually ended Seán; the dream implied that Anti didn't burn Seán out as thoroughly as he thought he did, but just…merged with him? Which raise so many questions it made Anti's head spin. He raised his knees and buried his face in them, clutching his head all the while.

Mare frowned, but before he could say anything, more footsteps came running near the tent. Anti jerked up, and cranked his neck to peek out the opening of the tent, though he couldn't see anything past Mare.

"Is Anti alright?" That was Dark.

Mare's head ducked back out of the tent to reply, "Yeah, he just woke up."

"We heard screaming." This time it was Mad.

"Uhm, yeah, that's Anti." Well, there goes pretending it never happened. "Gimme a sec, I'll handle this."

Without waiting for a reply, Mare entered the tent and sat down cross-legged in front of Anti.

Anti immediately scowled and looked away, crossing his arms. "I'm not going to talk about my dream, if that's what you want."

But Mare chuckled and shook his head. "Okay, fair enough. Let's talk about something else. You still have your phone?"

Anti was both relieved and confused by the change of topic. "Yep, why?"

Mare held out his hand. "Let me borrow it for a sec, we need to turn off anything that could track us."

"Uhm, why?"

"Are you still woozy in your head," Mare asked, raising an eyebrow, "or did you forget we're being hunted byboththe FBIandthe Institute?"

"Oh, right." In the muddle of his still-fresh dream, he may forgotten a few details. He patted down his clothes to look for his phone, until he found it in his hoodie pocket. Handing it over, he asked, "Do you really think they can track us using the phones?"

Mare shrugged. "Beats me. But Mad says it's better to be safe than sorry, and frankly, after what happened today, I'd rather listen to him."

While Mare fiddled with Anti's phone, Anti eyed him carefully. "Do you really know how to —"

"Relax, I got this."

"Okay, fine." Part of Anti wanted to go out to see what's outside, but a bigger part of him wasn't ready to leave the comfort of the tent yet. "Where are we?

Without looking up from the phone, Mare gestured to the roof of the tent. "Inside a tent?"

"Hahaha. Really."

"Sorry." This time, Mare grimaced. "Hellenswood, North Carolina."

For a moment, Anti stared at him. "What."

"Yeah. " Mare glanced up, apologetic. "We don't know what happened, but your teleport went wonky, and we lost a few hours."

"What." This never happened before. Now matter how much pain that facility put him through, he always managed to pull off his teleportations perfectly.

"Yep." Mare nodded, then he focused again on the phone in his hands. "So, mind telling us what happened back there?"

Anti took a moment to recall what happened before. Dark ordered him to teleport, Anti hesitated but did it anyway, and… somehow his senses got mixed up? (Also he remembered hearing a voice, but he didn't know if that was just Seán again.) "I don't know. I teleported like I always have."

Mare frowned. "Mad said you tired yourself out fighting mall security."

Of course, Mad would mention that. "I was fine."

"Obviously not, if you passed out afterward."

"Do you want me to rearrange —" The threat died on Anti's lips when he replayed what Mare had said. "I passed out?"

"Nope, we decided to knock you out for fun, because you're a joy to lug around," Mare snapped.

O-kay, Mare was even more sarcastic than usual. "Geez, what's your problem?"

That made Mare stop tapping on the phone for a moment, and stare at Anti. Then he shook his head, and murmured, "Sorry, I'm just… Never mind," before looking back down at the phone.

Anti narrowed his eyes and considered Mare's forcefully-casual tone. He wasn't as good with reading people as Dark — he personally preferred punching the problems out of people — but he could still tell that Mare was in a bad mood. And from experience, any of them in a bad mood led to nasty fights later. (Exhibit A: Dark and Mad.)

Why did Anti always find himself in situations that suited Dark more?

"Really now," Anti muttered. "What happened while I was out."

Above the phone he was still fiddling with, Mare scowled. "Well, you passed out, so we tried to revive you, but you didn't actually need help. We went look for somewhere to stay, and Mad mentioned that we had some camping supplies. So, we set up camp, though I think it's illegal to camp just anywhere, and Dark almost screwed up pitching the tent. Then we made dinner, and heard you screaming."

Okay, so Anti wasn't the only one who didn't want to talk about things. "Then why the hell are you in a bad mood?"

Like a deer in the headlights, Mare froze. His eyes flickered up at Anti, then narrowed. "Why do you care?"

"Did you get in a fight with Dark?" Anti pressed on. "Or Mad? What did they do this time?"

Mare huffed. "I'm not angry with them."

"Then —"

"That dream you had," Mare cut him off, "what was it about?"

Anti paused. So that was how Mare was playing this conversation.

The petty side of Anti wanted to spite Mare with a sarcastic answer. But the side that Anti didn't want to examine too closely made him reply, "It was about the facility."

Mare blinked; he didn't expect Anti to answer sincerely. "You mean the Institute."

"Yes." Anti nodded, then stopped. "Why do you keep calling it that?"

After a few more taps, Mare handed back the phone to Anti. He stood up, dusted off his pants, and said, "I think it's time we got another heart-to-heart with the dudes. "

 **a/n:** guess i now have to bump up the rating because of the trippy dream sequence in this chapter.

this was originally longer, but i decided to cut some scenes short because they felt forced; plus, without my beta's guidance, I can't properly write the emotions i wanted. hence, you're getting the AntiSepticEye and Natemare bonding some other time.

Now that's it for this chapter; if you liked it, punch that like button in the face, LIKE A BOSS! And, high-fives all around. WA-PHOOSH! WA-PHOOSH! Thank you guys, and see̢ ͝ąll̶ you ͟d̶u͠d̢e̸s i̵n t̕h̢e͝ ͢nex͡t̡ chapter!


End file.
